City Council meets today! They’ve got a very special meeting to consider the new committee/board appointments and also the question of how to replace Gary Crawford, who tried (and failed) to become an MPP Streaming live here. I’ll post stuff that happens. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYwcS31oO6s
Council is meeting in Committee Room 1, which is atypical. Speaker Nunziata says they’re currently doing upgrades on the AV system in the Council Chamber and she expects they’ll be ready by the September meeting. Hoping that’ll mean Council will stream in 4K HDR with Atmos.
Nunziata welcomes reps from the Nairobi City County Government who are here today. They get a standing ovation as a welcome.
Mayor Olivia Chow, talking about the challenges ahead, makes another canoe analogy, referring to challenges ahead with budget, transit, and housing as choppy waters. This is a mayor who absolutely loves making canoe analogies.
Chow’s speech is cut off by a repeated beeping noise. An alarm is going off. Councillors don’t seem too concerned about it but take a pause to figure out what it is. Could just be an “Everything’s OK” alarm, I suppose.
Council is waiting for the fire department to give instructions, Nunziata says, as the beeping persists. Councillors decide to continue on anyway, as the room does not APPEAR to be on fire. Beeeep, beeeep, beeeep, goes the fire alarm.
Council votes via show of hands to ADOPT these recommended committee and board appointments. They are now final. https://x.com/GraphicMatt/status/1689634572903051265
Beeeep, beeeep, beeeeep. Council now moves on to the question of how to replace Gary Crawford in Ward 20 Scarborough Southwest. They have two choices: appointment or by-election. They’re almost certainly going to opt for a by-election. https://secure.toronto.ca/council/agenda-item.do?item=2023.CC9.1
The fire department announces they have investigated and there is no emergency. “Yay,” say councillors.
McKelvie asks if the Clerk has a date yet for the prospective Scarborough Southwest by-election. City Clerk John Elvidge says the selection of the date is his responsibility. Specific date is TBD. The fire alarm goes off again. Another voice announces there is no emergency.
Once again: Beeeep beeeep beeeep. Yet another voice comes on to let councillors know there is NO emergency. “It’s a different person every time,” notes Councillor Paula Fletcher. What the hell is happening.
By-election will be between November 27 and December 18 per the draft by-law before Council today. Clerk notes Council has generally opted for a by-election in cases like this. Councillor Shelley Carroll moves to go forward with a by-election.
Council votes via show of hands to ADOPT Carroll’s motion to set a by-election to replace Gary Crawford in Ward 20 Scarborough Southwest. Exact by-election date will be announced by City Clerk soon.
One more bit of business: Council needs to elect a new Deputy Speaker. Councillor Stephen Holyday, the outgoing deputy, thanks Council for letting him serve, even though Nunziata rarely vacates the chair.
Chow nominates Councillor Paula Fletcher as the new Deputy Speaker. There are no other nominations. Fletcher gets the gig after a vote via show of hands.
Absent from today’s midsummer meeting: Thompson, Pasternak, Cheng, Matlow, Myers. There’s a typo here, I think — his name is Josh Matlow, not John Matlow. I’m pretty sure.
And that is all for this very special meeting of Toronto City Council — a meeting so hot it set off the fire alarm. See you back here for the next meeting on September 6, where Council is expected to discuss Toronto’s troublesome financial situation.
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