No elected officials, nor the Metro chairman, appeared to defend or oppose the project. The Board held 16 days of hearings and gave its approval by a vote of 2–1, OMB chairman J. A. Kennedy dissenting, on February 17, 1971. The Corporation then proceeded to appeal directly to the provincial government cabinet. On June 3, 1971, the provincial government of Bill Davis withdrew its support, effectively killing the project. The province would support the new Spadina subway line extension only. Speaking in the Ontario Legislature, Davis said: If we are building a transportation system to serve the automobile, the Spadina Expressway would be a good place to start. But if we are building a transportation system to serve people, the Spadina Expressway is a good place to stop. Toronto Mayor Dennison was shocked at the result. "It's shocking that a group who never at any time suggested workable alternative routes has successfully opposed something as important in the growth of Metro as was the Don Valley". Metro Toronto chairman Albert Campbell was incensed at the provincial government, stating, "It may mean that we will never build another expressway." Ramifications The debate over the Spadina Expressway, and its eventual cancellation, is regarded as a watershed moment in local politics. Toronto City Council was changing at the time to oppose the "top-down" planning of the Metro government. A "Reform Era" in Toronto politics was beginning, which brought to Toronto City Hall David Crombie, John Sewell, Allan Sparrow and Colin Vaughan. This new council viewed the Metro government and its officials with suspicion as not being accountable to local residents. In the 1950s and 1960s, Metro and City Councils had pushed through numerous large projects in transportation, and housing. The impacts on the central neighbourhoods had been substantial and had led to grassroots organizing. Councillors Sewell and Vaughan came directly from the grassroots campaigns. According to Albert Rose in his study of Metro from 1953 to 1971, the cancellation of the project raised four issues that would affect Metro Council afterwards: Who plans? – Until this point, planning had been done by professional planners or Metro department heads based on technical issues, such as projected traffic congestion. Metro had not provided a policy for the planners to follow. Role of the OMB in policy – The OMB was in charge of approving capital borrowing, a consideration dating from the days of the Depression.