City Council — July 2026

Toronto Council meets today! It's the FINAL meeting of the term. The end is near, but not too near, because there are — oh no — 409 items on this agenda. This could take a while. It's streaming live here. I'll post happenings. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ynN8...

For a quick and easy way to follow the meeting, I've hit the switch on the CITY HALL WATCHER LIVE machine. Updates will be posted here automatically. No need to hunt down updates to this thread. live.cityhallwatcher.com

Mayor Olivia Chow has set the island airport, and her demand that Doug Ford give Toronto its dang land back, as the first item this morning. But first: there will be a tribute to the city staff who helped make the World Cup happen.

For a full preview of the agenda, which also includes items about data centres, pedestrian scrambles, fare refunds, the WNBA and K-pop band BTS, check out this week's edition of City Hall Watcher. As always, the newsletter's got you covered. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/council-se...

While we were sleeping, the city posted a new after-action report on the World Cup. The final numbers are still being crunched, but "staff remain confident that the overall budget will be within the City Council approved budget of $380 million." www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis...

Mayor Olivia Chow rises to note that she and Councillor Matlow picked up bagels for councillors from Kiva's Bagel Bakery, the shop that was attacked this weekend. "This council and I will always stand with Toronto's Jewish community against anti-semitism," she says.

City Manager Paul Johnson takes the lectern to honour the staff who worked on the FIFA World Cup. He wanted to bring together every person who helped coordinate the event, but was told that would mean bringing 20,000 people, and they won't all fit in the Council Chamber.

City Manager heaps praise on Sharon Bollenbach, who led the World Cup effort. "Everyone played their position incredibly well, which is what you need," he says. He emphasizes that most of the World Cup work was done in person, not remotely. "We've learned the value of sitting together."

Johnson, a big college basketball fan, asked staff if they could create a version of the "One Shining Moment" montage that plays after the March Madness Tournament, showcasing the city's FIFA work. And they... did it? They're going to play a video.

We're going to need a montage. Oh, it takes a montage. We get an extended package of clips from the World Cup games and the Fan Festival. Fan marches. People smiling and cheering, talking about how cool Toronto is, this fan with a traffic cone hat, etc.

Councillors give a standing ovation to the staff assembled in the chamber. "Wow! What a video!" says Mayor Olivia Chow, as she takes a turn at the lectern. She says the World Cup was "the biggest party Toronto has ever celebrated."

"Right from the beginning, I was worried about money," says Chow of the World Cup. But she appointed former councillor David Soknacki to keep the budget in check. "He combed through the books and made sure not one dime of your property tax dollar went to hosting the games."

The victory laps continue. Councillor Michael Thompson praises Chow's leadership on the World Cup. He says a lot of people thought the World Cup would be a "colossal failure on the part of this city" but it wasn't. He thanks Chow for her work and the team she put together.

"I had zero interview requests during FIFA, which meant everything was going right," TTC Chair Jamaal Myers jokes. He praises the work the TTC and the city did to prioritize transit and get people to the soccer games.

"Okay, I think we thanked everyone," says Nunziata. Time to start this meeting for real.

Councillor James Pasternak jokes that when he put his name forward to be chair of North York Community Council, his slogan was "Done By Noon." But the last meeting had 100 items and took 11 hours, so "that campaign promise was not achievable."

Time to declare conflicts of interest: - Saxe on a Whitney Ave application, because she's being sued by the applicant - Chow on Chinatown planning report and another nearby dev application, because she lives in the area

As is his custom, Councillor Colle also declares a conflict on a TTC item because his son works for the agency. Perks wants to know what the deal is with Councillor Parthi Kandavel, who has said he will recuse himself for dev items while an OPP investigation plays out. Nunziata says they'll ask him.

With no drama, Council votes via a show of hands to add Mayor Chow's island airport item to the agenda. Debate will take off soon. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Meanwhile, some big election news is official: Timothy Ellis is running for school board trustee.

Council votes via show of hands to APPROVE a new sole-source contract with DocuPet for pet licensing services. A supplementary report detailed some new extra costs, but the item got the green light regardless. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Council votes via show of hands to APPROVE phase two of the Dunn House supportive housing project. A Strachan & Wellington project gets approved, too.

Council votes 23-2 to APPROVE a new long-term care home on Guildwood Parkway in Councillor Ainslie's ward. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

A confidential recommendation on an Ontario Land Tribunal hearing re: 189 to 195 Old Weston Road in Councillor Bravo's ward is APPROVED 23-1. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

At last, this monster meeting schedule takes shape: 1) Island Airport this afternoon 2) Surveillance Pricing tomorrow morning 3) FIFA report following surveillance pricing 4) Ombudsman report re: TTC refunds tomorrow afternoon, after member motions

Council votes to approve 230 items on consent, with no debate. That leaves 170 items left to deal with. We'll get through this together. Up first: the island airport. The feds have blocked expansion. The mayor would like Doug Ford to give the city its land back.

Matlow starts off, asking the Chief Planner if he called up Nieuport Aviation—owners of the terminal—to inquire about whether they are owned by JP Morgan. Thorne says Nieuport sent an email indicating an investment fund holds a majority interest, "and it's not registered in the Cayman Islands"

Via questioning from Deputy Mayor Malik, staff confirm that the provincial legislation gives the province the right to take all of the Toronto Islands. There are no regulations yet to transfer ownership, but some items in the legislation limit the city's ability to make use of those lands via leases

"We're in the absence of a lot of information," admits City Manager Paul Johnson. The city never received a plan to expand the island airport, and has not received any official communication about the federal stance on expansion. They're relying on media reports.

Councillor Holyday uses his laptop to show off the operating area for Pearson compared to the island airport area. He argues that the island airport's area is mostly over the water. His point, I think, is that he believes expanding the island airport would affect fewer people than expanding Pearson.

Mayor Olivia Chow says tens of thousands of people spoke out against airport expansion. "These are not fringe groups," she notes. "Their passion and determination made it impossible for other levels of government to ignore the facts."

Chow thanks Prime Minister Carney and the Toronto caucus of MPs for "listening to the people of Toronto." "This victory belongs to everyone who stood up for our city," she says. "We’ve protected our waterfront for future generations."

Mayor Chow says she went kayaking on the lake Friday morning. "I saw the incredible transformation underway on Toronto's waterfront: new homes, nature, wildlife, community spaces, parks all coming together in harmony. That's the future we are building together."

And that takes us to lunch. They got... half of one debate done. Back at 2 p.m. to land the airport debate and deal with the other 169 items that remain.

As was foretold, council has returned. Before they get back to the island airport debate, Council votes 23-0 to APPROVE a 45-storey development at College & Henry in Councillor Dianne Saxe's ward.

After Councillor Gord Perks moves an amendment requiring an additional traffic calming study, Council votes via show of hands to APPROVE a 32-storey project on Southport Street. Some Swansea residents had made a strong push to oppose this one. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Mayor Olivia Chow announces the launch of the Affordable Housing Award of Excellence. Process opens today, with first winners named next year. The award is a stained-glass replica of the Riverdale housing co-op. Neat.

Back to the island airport debate. Councillor Holyday asks why Chow isn't also opposing an expansion at Pearson Airport. Chow says this is an item about the island airport, not Pearson.

Councillor Brad Bradford is up now to ask Chow if her office was lobbied about the island airport before Ford announced his expansion plan. Chow deflects, pointing out that Bradford seemed supportive of an expanded airport in Council's October 2024 debate about a lease extension.

"Let's not confuse the issue. You sound confused," Bradford says to Chow. He asks again: "When did you know about the province's plan to put this proposal on the table?" "You can't change history," Chow says, again pointing to Bradford's 2024 support for a longer runway in the 2024 debate.

Bradford seems to be trying to argue that Chow didn't oppose the island airport enough. Chow is responding by pointing out that Bradford seemed supportive of some kind of airport expansion in 2024.

Moving on, Councillor Josh Matlow moves for a report on the obstacles to the province's "stated objectives" with island airport expansion.

"The elephant in the room is still there," says Matlow. "We're still going to have to resolve the future of Billy Bishop Airport, and how do we ensure that it's viable, and we support a future that works, that also respects our waterfront."

Matlow: "This is my call to the premier: treat us like partners, be respectful, some calling people who live on the island 'squatters', stop calling people who disagree with you 'fringe', stop trying to remove the voices of Torontonians ... come back to the table, act like an adult."

"Why are you asking to use Toronto taxpayer resources to do the research and analysis of the NDP opposition party at Queen's Park?" wonders Holyday. "That's a weird question," says Matlow, who is famously a Liberal. "Come on over, Josh! The water's fine!" jokes Perks, an NDPer.

"Oh shit, sorry," says Fletcher, on a live mic in the middle of a Matlow response to a Holyday question. She's chairing the meeting while Nunziata steps out. "I couldn't have said it better myself!" jokes Matlow.

Holyday has two motions: 1. Report on impacts of passenger growth at Pearson. 2. Report on long-term aviation demand in Toronto

"I think the thing that has troubled me on this is all the attention on this has gone to changes that may be proposed for downtown Toronto — and everyone stops looking at the effects to the west-end of the city with the growth that's going on at Pearson Airport," says Councillor Stephen Holyday.

Holyday says noise impacts from an expanded Billy Bishop will be "substantially over the water." "If you compare that to the same [noise] contours that are provided for Pearson Airport, you will notice that — my goodness — it's all over land."

"You come to my house, you will notice there are triple-pane windows," says Holyday. He says he likes that they save him money on heating/cooling, but the real reason he has them is his "proximity to the airport and the noise that happens at night."

"There is no business case for it!" Councillor Saxe says of island airport expansion. "We're constantly being lobbied that, 'Oh, this is good for the economy!' but there has not been a shred of evidence to support it. Not one."

Councillor Gord Perks tees off on JP Morgan Chase. "It is literally the biggest institution on the planet for turning wealth into more wealth. It is the very engine of consuming and commodifying and destroying anything in its path, in order to turn money into more money."

Councillor Paula Fletcher says 24,000 people visited the Biidaasige Park on Saturday, to check out the new expansion. She points out that the site could have been home to Google Canada's HQ, had Toronto not stood up to the private sector Sidewalk Labs plan.

Bradford says he'll support Chow's motion demanding the Ford government give the land back. "This land belongs to the people of Toronto." "Torontonians must have a say in consequential decisions, and I think this council chamber is united in that."

Bradford turns his attention to Chow again, suggesting that Chow was lying when she told council in March that she only learned about Ford's expansion plan a few days before the announcement. "Did the mayor and the staff team learn about it from the airport's lobbyists? She won't say."

Bradford says Chow was "attempting to mislead the public" by bringing up the October 2024 debate about safety-related runway extensions. Perks objects to that comment. Nunziata asks Bradford to withdraw it. He does.

Bradford says he supports the continued existence of the island airport. "What I can't support is a massive unliteral expansion, where our land is expropriated, there's no business case presented, there's no plan and there's no public support."

Time to vote. Matlow's motion to report on the various "obstacles" to the province's Billy Bishop expansion effort CARRIES 23-3.

Councillor Cheng's motion to amend Holyday's motion about Pearson expansion impacts to include the North York area CARRIES 19-7.

Holyday's amended motion to report on impacts of Pearson growth CARRIES 15-11.

Holyday's motion to report on long-term demand for passenger and cargo aviation in Toronto FAILS 9-17.

Mayor Olivia Chow's motion to demand Doug Ford give the city back the land the province took for island airport expansion CARRIES 25-1.

Up now: a deal with the Toronto Tempo. The city is offering the WNBA team a $1-per-year lease on land at Exhibition Place to build a practice facility. In exchange, the Tempo will provide community use time at the facility, outdoor basketball courts, and a park. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Michael Thompson gets the City Manager to confirm this is a good deal for the city and not a "giveaway." Staff say the Tempo are making a $100 million capital investment, and that this deal means the park and facility will be delivered much faster than they would have been otherwise.

Thompson praises the Tempo deal as a great alternative to how city hall normally handles capital projects. "We would probably wait another 100 years for us to maybe think of developing something there. We probably would have maybe 60 studies. And we probably still wouldn't get to it."

"We have another speaker," Nunziata sighs. It's Councillor Colle. "I'm just beginning to worry there's too much downtown-centric investment happening," he says, noting all the major pro sports teams that play downtown. "There is a Toronto north of Eglinton, believe it or not!"

"I hope the next investment made by one of these major franchises happens outside the downtown. Because I think you have enough!" says Councillor Mike Colle. He laments the traffic caused by "jamming everything downtown."

"All these beautiful things happening downtown - beautiful, fantastic! But what about UPTOWN?" Colle wonders.

The Toronto Tempo deal for a practice facility at Exhibition Place is APPROVED 22-0.

Councillor Gord Perks rises to note "two of the original members of the Scoobies -- the internet and Twitter people who held Mayor Rob Ford to account — are here in the chamber with us!" It's Jonathan Goldsbie and Neville Park! They seem thrilled by the announcement.

Up now: an item about building more supportive housing to reduce homelessness. Councillor Holyday has concerns. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Holyday is worried that site selection for supportive housing has been delegated to staff, so councillors won't have a chance to weigh in. He says he'll vote against a recommendation to look at additional supportive housing opportunities.

Councillor Gord Perks says it's fair to discuss whether sites should include housing or other uses like parks or commercial. "Where people go wrong — horribly, horribly, immorally wrong — is when they start demanding consultation about what kinds of people live where," he says.

The report's recommendation to look at more opportunities to build supportive housing projects CARRIES 21-1.

Up now: a Public Health report on the importance of indoor air quality. Councillor Cheng has some questions. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

After a few questions highlighting the importance of doing something about indoor air quality at city buildings, the report is APPROVED via show of hands. Follow-up report on indoor air quality is due Q3 2027.

Up now: the annual report from the fire department. Councillor Michael Thompson asks about the department's work to diversify their workforce. Fire Chief says representation among recruits has "dramatically improved." secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Fire chief again raises alarm about lithium-ion battery fires. In 2022, there were 23 fires caused by the batteries. That rose to 71 in 2025. There have already been 50 this year. He says there have been two recent near-misses where firefighters could have been badly injured by exploding batteries.

Councillor Neethan Shan points to stats in the report showing worsening response times in his Ward 25 - Scarborough Rouge Park ward. Jessop says the issue has his "full attention" and he's working with other city departments to improve things.

(Notable, again, that response times remain best in the downtown area, despite routine claims that bike lanes, transit lanes, etc will greatly hinder emergency vehicles.)

Fire chief says he's seen more than a dozen e-bikes stored in a single apartment. He's called on Queen's Park to look at amending the fire code to address the issue.

On the fire department's annual report, Mayor Chow moves for budget reports on ways to speed up response times in Scarborough, Etobicoke and Don Valley.

Councillor Stephen Holyday moves to look at mapping the most frequent routes used by fire trucks, so council can then consider ways to optimize their travel times.

Time to vote. Chow's motion to report on ways to speed up fire department response times in Scarborough, Etobicoke and the Don Valley area CARRIES 25-0.

Moving on, Council votes via a show of hands to APPROVE a three-tower development atop College Park. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

With 145 items left on the agenda, Council breaks for the night. They'll be back tomorrow at 9:30 to debate surveillance pricing. I'll be watching. See you back here then.

Council is stirring. They're set to begin shortly. The morning session will begin with a tribute to City Solicitor Wendy Walberg, who is retiring after 35 years of trying to get City Hall to listen to her legal advice. Day two stream is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABNY...

Mayor Olivia Chow takes the lectern to pay tribute to Walberg, whose family is in attendance. "Thank you for sharing Wendy with the City of Toronto throughout her remarkable career," Chow says to the family.

Standing ovation for Walberg as she takes the lectern. "In many ways, my career has been a surprise to me. I didn't take municipal law in law school. I suppose it's too late for you to hold that against me now. My friends who had taken it the previous year told me it was boring," she says.

Walberg says the list of things she'll miss about the job is long, but there are a few things she won't miss: "Having to carry around two cell phones all the time, and having to give legal advice on the basis of only a press release." She says she was surprised by how often the latter happened.

"I have two predictions for next term: One is that legal services will continue to be there for you and provide the support that you need, and two is that my successor will never be bored," says retiring City Solicitor Wendy Walberg in her goodbye speech. She gets another standing ovation.

"Wendy, you remember the time at Metro Council when Mel Lastman was the mayor? Right? And what we had to do when we were voting, and... that was exciting, wasn't it?" comments a very vague Councillor Frances Nunziata to retiring city solicitor Wendy Walberg.

Councillor Michael Thompson introduces a petition opposing a six-storey, 25-unit development on Pharmacy Ave signed by 66 people. He's also got a petition signed by 300 people requesting a dog water fountain at a park.

Councillor James Pasternak introduces a petition signed by nearly 3,500 people about a "public safety crisis" caused by protestors in the Bathurst & Sheppard neighbourhood. "Protestors come up on the east side of Bathurst & Sheppard and call for the destruction of Israel and the genocide of Jews."

Councillor Parthi Kandavel has a petition signed by almost 5,000 people expressing concerns about data centres.

Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin moves receipt of an item recommending heritage designation for a property on Hedgewood Road, effectively killing the designation. That CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Up now: Mayor Olivia Chow wants staff to look at banning "surveillance pricing" in retail stores -- prices that change based on algorithms. If approved, staff would research what's doable and report back in Q1 2027. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Nunziata and Chow seem surprised no councillors have questions for staff about the surveillance pricing item. "I think some of them are not listening anyway," says Nunziata. Could make for a short debate.

“Today we are standing up for everyone who felt the impact of the rising cost of... everything, really," says Chow. She says surveillance pricing is "really unfair -- an item being sold with two different prices depending on who you are and when you're shopping."

"I do recognize it's a stretch for the city in terms of our legal authority, but I think that's okay," says Councillor Dianne Saxe, saying she'll support Chow's motion to look at banning surveillance pricing. "We should be standing up - we should do what we can."

"It is absolutely proven and documented that these large grocery conglomerates will break the law to make off people. They will absolutely use any AI or internet tool they can purchase to increase their profit at your expense," says Perks, referencing the recent bread price-fixing settlement.

"The only thing that I feel regretful about doing this work, is we won't have Ms. Walberg to go to the Supreme Court and win this for us," says Perks of moving to ban surveillance pricing. (And the likelihood that the city will get sued if they do it.)

"This is capitalism on a kind of steroids in which none of us are safe, as our personal information is used against us. Which means if we need something desperately — if we need something to live — we're going to pay a higher price," says Councillor Alejandra Bravo.

Councillor Anthony Perruzza says he still loves to pay cash. As evidence, he pulls some money out of his pocket. "I got my money here. Not much of it today, because I went out last night and I got soaked by some folks — but I love to pay cash."

Perruzza laments that kids today are always using their phones to pay for things, even movie tickets and popcorn. He says he misses when people could use travel agents to book trips. "We have all fallen victim to the CARDS and the DIGITAL DEVICES," he says, waving his phone around.

No one decides to take a contrarian "surveillance pricing is great, actually" position. The debate ends. Council votes 26-0 to pursue a ban on surveillance pricing, subject to a staff report on what's doable due in Q1 2027.

You might see some celebratory "Toronto Council bans surveillance pricing!" stuff on social media but hold those horses. Like with the city-run grocery store thing earlier this year, this is basically just a report request — not a done deal.

Up now: a report on some early conclusions from Toronto's World Cup hosting experience. Councillor Josh Matlow moves for a value-for-money audit. He says the World Cup was fun but he disagrees with the process that led to this bid and the enormous costs. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

“I just think from a financial perspective, this was a failure," says Matlow of the World Cup. "I think from a city staff management angle, they should be commended ... but we have to get real."

"You heard all this doom and gloom," says Councillor Mike Colle of World Cup media stories before the event. "And here we go today, they won't admit they were wrong! This was a PHENOMENAL SUCCESS!"

"I think this city turned a sow's ear into a silk purse," says Councillor Dianne Saxe of the World Cup. "We didn't get a good financial deal, but we did a wonderful job hosting FIFA."

Councillor Perruzza is giving another loud speech. “Countries unbeknownst to us! Driving around, honking their horns, waving their flag — living side by side in harmony and peace! Getting along, getting to know each other! PLEASE, ask all those auditors to put a value on THAT!"

Councillor Michael Thompson says breaking even with FIFA is "not the game." "You're buying an opportunity with an organization that has a global control of football in the world — and you want to connect with that, and that's what we've done."

Councillor Lily Cheng moves for a report on whether there was an increase in intimate partner violence during the FIFA World Cup. She says the YWCA advocated for this motion. "I think it's important that we take a look," says Cheng.

Councillor Shelley Carroll says in the lead-up to the World Cup, other host cities would ask about Toronto, "What is wrong with the media in your town? Why are they so negative about this event that is coming? What's happening up there?"

Saying the World Cup was a "great success", Mayor Olivia Chow moves a long motion to make permanent some of the traffic and transit changes the city used during the FIFA event.

"The dollars we spent were not taxpayer dollars. It is through the hotel levies," says Chow of the World Cup budget. She hails the work of advisor David Soknacki and says the final figure will indeed come within the $380 million budget.

Councillor Matlow's request for a value-for-money audit of the FIFA World Cup CARRIES 22-4.

Chow's motion to make some of the traffic and transit changes implemented during the World Cup permanent CARRIES 25-1.

Cheng's motion carried via show of hands. That ends the World Cup debate. Up now: an item about restoring line markings on roads after utility work. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Mayor Olivia Chow's office says she'll be speaking with reporters over the lunch break about a new member motion she plans to introduce, so expect something at least semi-notable.

And here's the news: Mayor Chow and Deputy Mayor Malik will ask Council to approve a plan to make the Toronto Island ferry free for kids and seniors in August, in celebration of the victory over the island airport expansion effort.

After adding a few more agenda items, Council breaks for lunch. There are 147 — and counting — items left on the agenda. After the break, they'll deal with a whole bunch of them via the member motion run-through. I'm going to have to type very, very fast. See you back here at 2 p.m.

Council is back. They start with a moment of silence for Renata Ford, the wife of the late former mayor Rob Ford. Then, before they get back to business, Mayor Olivia Chow wants to give some remarks about the end of this council term.

Chow thanks city clerks and staff for all their hard work over the last four years. "Perhaps the hardest job belongs to Speaker Nunziata, who keeps us in line! She's been doing this for a while -- and nobody can run a meeting quite like her!" says Chow.

Chow also praises Councillor Gord Perks, who is retiring. "His tenacity and principled voice will be missed — so too will his institutional knowledge. Toronto is better for having Gord here at city hall."

Chow also praises John Tory, who started this term as mayor before something, uh, happened. She points to Tory's work during COVID, which draws applause. ("We'll make sure he sees the tape," Chow adds.)

The shoutouts continue, as Chow names councillors who served for part of this term before moving on: Jennifer McKelvie and Gary Crawford. She then pays tribute to the late Jaye Robinson.

Now: Gord Perks gives his farewell speech. He thanks his loved ones, the people of Ward 4 ("You silly geese - you elected me five times"), and all those who have engaged in politics and activism. He says his secret campaign slogan was always "It's better to lose right than win wrong."

Perks thanks longtime friend Mayor Olivia Chow. "For 40 years, you have shown me what it is to live a life where you wake up every day determined to make it a better place for people who have been excluded."

Perks said his office lives by a rule: "I don't want to be part of your revolution if we can't dance." He says other councillors have sometimes complained about the sound of laughter coming from his office. He calls executive assistant Karen Duffy "wisdom personified."

Councillor Gord Perks ends by saying he has "just one quick little three-word piece of advice" for colleagues: "Capitalism is trash." He gets a standing ovation.

Councillor Holyday gives Councillor Perks a goodbye hug. Peace in our time.

Council votes 25-1 to APPROVE a two-tower 59-storey project on Eglinton East. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Burnside wants to say a few words about Gord Perks. ("Oh shit," Perks says.) Burnside said he first learned about Perks via a Sue Ann Levy column that made him very angry. "I couldn't believe anyone would ever elect this guy!"

Burnside says during his first stint as councillor, he found Perks "absolutely insufferable." Burnside says he was on Team Tory, while Perks was not. After he was re-elected, though, he found himself sitting next to Perks at council again. "And it was the best thing that could have happened."

"What I'm most thankful is how much I trust him," says Burnside of Councillor Gord Perks. "I will miss his wit. I will miss his wisdom. But most of all, I will miss your friendship."

Anyway, enough with this gooey sh...show of emotion. Time for member motions. Councillor Saxe's motion to look at heritage designation for Sneaky Dee's is added to the agenda via a show of hands. Saxe holds it for debate. They'll come back to it. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Neethan Shan's motion to declare July as Caribbean Heritage Month is APPROVED 24-0. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Shan's motion to look at creating a Filipino Community Centre CARRIES 24-0. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Carroll's motion to look at ways to better manage moribund development sites is APPROVED via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Pasternak's motion to support the findings of an inspector general report about antisemitism is APPROVED 23-0. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Perruzza's motion to allow the use of rubber speed bumps FAILS to make the agenda after a 13-9 vote. It needed two-thirds support; didn't get it. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Dianne Saxe's motion for the TTC to let the city know when new development applications would strain nearby transit capacity is APPROVED 22-0. (Nunziata was also a yes.) secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Matlow's motion to install a heritage plaque for CHUM Radio CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Crisanti's motion to develop a policy for letting people remove "nuisance trees" FAILS to make the agenda after a 9-15 vote. It needed two-thirds; didn't come close. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Deputy Mayor Malik's motion to spend some Section 37 funds fixing up intersections beneath Gardiner East CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Moise's motion to look at Heritage Conservation District status for the Corktown neighbourhood CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Matlow's motion to look at installing pedestrian scrambles at Yonge & Eglinton and Yonge & Roehampton CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Brad Bradford's motion requesting the mayor sit on the police board (instead of appointing a delegate) FAILS to make the agenda after a 7-18 vote. It needed two-thirds; got nowhere close. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Dianne Saxe's motion about preparing for autonomous vehicles with a curbside management strategy gets added to the agenda via show of hands. Councillor Myers holds it for debate. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Nunziata's motion to look at discontinuing city garbage collection at a problem property in her ward CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Crisanti's motion to assess the impact of a data centre proposed for his ward CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Cheng's motion to temporarily name a street after K-Pop band BTS gets ADDED to the agenda. But Cheng holds it. Apparently she's got an amendment. They'll come back to it. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Kandavel's motion about doing "due dilligence" on a data centre proposed for his ward gets added to the agenda via show of hands. Kandavel holds it for debate. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Moise's motion to spend $9 million in Section 42 to expand the greenhouse space at Allan Gardens CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Paula Fletcher's motion to rename the Main Sewage Treatment Playground to "Ashbridge’s Bay Sports Hub" CARRIES via show of hands. Wait, what was wrong with the old name. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Council breaks into cheers as Nunziata reads her 100th member motion. Council then votes via show of hands to authorize some Section 37 money for Richmond East streetscape improvements. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Cheng's motion requesting the federal government to require all new vehicles to come with anti-theft tech CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Fletcher's motion to look at a park conservancy model for managing Biidaasige Park CARRIES via a show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

After going through 120 member motions (!), and adopting many of them without debate, there are now just 44 items left on this agenda. We're still in the dark tunnel, but I see some light.

Up now: an Ombudsman report on the TTC's decision not to issue refunds when they discontinued tickets and tokens. It's not clear how the decision was made, and the Ombudsman found that several people with significant stockpiles had their holdings rendered worthless. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Asked about the decision not to issue refunds for tokens, the TTC's Josh Colle said the logistics would have been complex. Because tokens were sold widely by third parties, people would have needed to physically bring tokens to the TTC for authentication first. A labour-intensive process.

"There are so many things that have gone wrong here," says Councillor Thompson. He says it makes "no sense" that nobody at the TTC seems to know who made the no-refund decision. "We should have had a better process."

After similar speeches supporting the Ombudsman's work from Bravo and Myers, the report is ADOPTED via show of hands. Moving on.

Councillor Amber Morley moves to refer a Lake Shore Boulevard West planning study back to staff for more consideration. Her motion CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin wants to defer a development application for Eglinton East & Hoyle Ave to the next council meeting, which isn't until December. Her motion FAILS 7-13. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

After that, the development application for a 35-storey building at Eglinton East & Hoyle Ave is APPROVED 20-2.

(The Clerk jumps in to say the result of that last vote was actually 19-3, with Pasternak also in the negative. Amend your scorecards accordingly.)

Several of the items left on this agenda follow the same theme: councillors who just want to be on record as opposing certain developments in their wards. 'Tis the election season.

"Unless you want midrises in your neighbourhoods, vote against this proposal," Councillor James Pasternak warns colleagues, re: a development application for a 14-storey building on Vinci Crescent in his ward. Nevertheless, the application is APPROVED 18-4. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Though Pasternak notes there are still a few issues to work out, Council votes via a show of hands to APPROVE a big 9,250-unit development plan for Downsview West. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Meanwhile, City Hall Watcher's candidate tracker shows that two more incumbents — Councillor Paul Ainslie and Councillor Anthony Perruzza — have registered for re-election. Only three holdouts remain: Fletcher, Matlow and Kandavel. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/p/2026-candi...

Council is now debating an application for two six-storey buildings on Wilket Road. Local rep Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin says she's concerned the development will strain sewers and risk flooding from overflow. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

After hearing from Toronto Water that the project won't be built until they're satisfied the water infrastructure can handle it, Chernos Lin moves to approve the application. It CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Council votes 21-2 to APPROVE a 36-storey project at Rosehampton Avenue in Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin's ward. It's in a major transit station area. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

I get why councillors want to show they were opposed to a project that otherwise gets approved, but as a political strategy, I wonder if it'll eventually lose its effectiveness. Are voters really happy to hear "I opposed it but couldn't stop it"? Who does that satisfy?

Nunziata, frustrated by the sheer number of these development application items with amendments that aren't ready yet, calls for a brief recess to sort things out.

And we're back. Councillor Rachel Chernos Lin moves to REFUSE an application for a 7-storey building on Millwood Road in her ward. "The building is simply too large for the site.” She points to more than 80 letters of opposition received on this item. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Chernos Lin's motion to refuse a 7-storey building planned for Millwood Road CARRIES 12-11.

Not sure that was the result Chernos Lin or anyone was expecting but... well, they'll have fun at the OLT.

Up now: A planning report for Chinatown. Local rep Councillor Dianne Saxe points to the example Montreal has set in protecting its Chinatown. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

The Chinatown planning report is ADOPTED 23-1.

Council votes via show of hands to APPROVE a 35-storey building on 500 Dundas East in Regent Park. Moise acknowledges there are concerns in the community about height, but he argues that more housing of all types is needed, and this delivers on that. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Up now: a report on transit priority measures to speed up the Dundas streetcar. Councillor Holyday has concerns. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Mayor Olivia Chow moves to finish this agenda tonight, with a dinner break from 6:30 to 7 p.m. That CARRIES via show of hands. Strap in. We're going 'til the wheels fall off.

Holyday explains why he will oppose this report on implementing transit priority measures to speed up the Dundas streetcar. "Dundas is a really important route for residents of Etobicoke when they drive into the city ... it's an essentially important street for east-west movement."

Report on speeding up the Dundas streetcar CARRIES 20-2. Staff will report back with options to the TTC Board and Infrastructure Committee in 2027.

Up now: A report on Canada Post's plans to move more households to community mailboxes. Councillor Crisanti has concerns. The report says 15,522 households in his ward are set to lose door-to-door delivery soon. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Myers asks if the city would have any say over the design of the community mailboxes, pointing out that a bunch of ugly mailboxes could run counter to the "Beautiful City" initiative. Staff say Canada Post is in charge of the design.

Council breaks for dinner. Back at 7 p.m. (ish) with 39 items left on this agenda. Setting the over/under on the finish time at 10:30 p.m. See you back here soon.

After several minutes of ringing bells and Nunziata saying "Members of council, please come to the council chamber", Council has returned. The special evening live stream is here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpkQ...

Council votes via show of hands to APPROVE a report about making it easier to film movies and TV shows at Old City Hall. Here's my pitch: a reality show about people setting up and operating a City of Toronto museum. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Council votes via show of hands to declare "BTS Weekend" when the band is in town in August, and to temporarily rename part of Yonge Street as BTS Boulevard. "Dynamite! Thank you guys!" says Councillor Lily Cheng, who brought the motion forward.

After dispensing with a few minor items, there are now just 18 items left on the agenda. This odyssey is almost over. But first: mailboxes. They've gotta debate mailboxes. We're back to mailboxes.

"My constituents can rest assured that I am watching this very very closely," says Councillor Vince Crisanti of the transition to community mailboxes. "My eyes are on Canada Post." So noted.

Councillor Stephen Holyday says Canada Post's announcement about moving community mailboxes has caused a lot of stress in his community. He's worried about litter and parked cars near boxes put on streets. He wants Canada Post to look at instead putting the mailboxes at stores and strip malls.

No motions on the Canada Post item so council just moves on. Up now: Council votes 20-3 to APPROVE an OLT item related to a development on Marlee Avenue. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

After a quick amendment from Councillor Myers, Councillor Saxe's motion about developing a curbside management strategy for self-driving cars CARRIES via show of hands. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Up now: this wall. The owners of a Rosedale Home have built this wall along the edge of their property. Heritage staff initially recommended requiring the owner to take it down, but now staff are recommending approval because there's a revised design. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Gord Perks has moved to delete the staff recommendation and deny the variance needed to keep the wall.

The wall is the work of the McGrath family who recently opened a downtown brewery called "House of McGrath." Councillor Dianne Saxe said yesterday she's being sued in relation to this file. Big wall drama.

Holyday asks if there's a "signage component" to this wall issue. Staff say the owners have put their "family crest" on the wall, which is "also used in some ways with a business."

Perks asks if the wall was built without all the necessary permits. It was, say staff. He asks if part of the wall is on public land. It is, say staff. "Okay, those are the two things I needed to know," says Perks.

"Do you believe a private individual should be able to construct a structure without all the necessary permits, partially on public land, and, in addition, put a chill on the councillor representing the area with a lawsuit?" asks Councillor Gord Perks. "My answer to that would be no."

Councillor Brad Bradford says he supports the wall. He says staff are recommending approval, and that's good enough for him. He moves those staff recommendations.

"It's not an ideological battle," says Bradford, pointing out this issue has come to council many times before. "So I'd just ask, you know, do the right thing. Support the staff recs. Vote against Councillor Perks' motion."

Nunziata accidentally calls Councillor Alejandra Bravo "Councillor Bradford." "I can see how you'd confuse Councillor Bradford and me, speaker," jokes Bravo. "Same haircut," says Bradford.

"Power, privilege, resources, money cannot entitle you in front of this council," says Bravo. She says Saxe has been unfairly "silenced" by this lawsuit. She worries this is a slippery slope and that this could set a bad precedent.

Councillor Gord Perks' motion to refuse the encroachment agreement for the Rosedale wall CARRIES 20-4. The wall shall come down.

Council quickly votes to APPROVE Saxe's motion to look at heritage designation for Sneaky Dee's. Report due back in Q1 2027. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Wait, Saxe wants to talk about Sneaky Dee's, so they re-open the item. She says heritage designation for this would set an "important precedent" for protecting similar venues. "It's worth a try — it's not a guarantee of success — but it's worth a try." Item is APPROVED again.

Up now: Councillor Matlow has brought us a report on the future of the Ontario Science Centre building. He moves for the City Manager to hold a meeting to discuss the report and a future for the building. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Shelley Carroll says, with regret, that the "ship has done sailed" on bringing the Science Centre back to the old site at 770 Don Mills. So she won't be supporting Matlow's motion. She says it's time to move on.

But Matlow's Science Centre motion CARRIES via show of hands anyway. City manager will try to set up a meeting about the future of the site.

Up now: Kandavel has concerns about a data centre proposed for his ward, and also data centres generally. He moves for the province to establish a "province-wide framework" for data centres that address environmental impacts, noise concerns, and electricity usage. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Both Bravo and Moise have long motions requesting more studies and information about data centres. Councillors are clearly feeling the pressure on the issue. Full text of motions posted here: secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

All the data centre motions, requesting all kinds of information about data centres, CARRY via show of hands. Item as amended CARRIES 25-0. Consider this just a preview of a much larger debate about data centres coming to this council chamber in 2027. There's no escape.

Councillor Gord Perks announces he's won a mini-battle with the Jays Care Foundation. They wanted to put a "big bank logo" in High Park as part of a donation for a baseball field, contrary to city policies re: corporate logos. Now they've agreed to give the grant with no logo required.

On that victorious note, Council votes 24-0 to APPROVE Mayor Olivia Chow's motion to work with Jays Care on potentially establishing a Jays Care Academy in the city. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Up now: Deputy Mayor Malik's motion to provide free Toronto Island ferry tickets for kids and seniors in August, in celebration of the city's win in the island airport fight. Councillor Holyday has concerns. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Holyday is confused about what win, exactly, the motion is celebrating. "The win is protecting our waterfront," says Malik. Holyday asks if it's proper to use Section 37 funds for this purpose. The CFO says Sec 37 funds are generally applied for capital uses, so this isn't a typical use.

But actually, the CFO explains, the motion is basically consistent with Section 37 usage, because what it does is apply MORE Section 37 money to the ferry terminal capital project, which lets the city repurpose other capital funds to pay for the free ferry tickets.

Holyday disagrees, however. He wants Nunziata to rule this whole motion out of order, because he believes that, despite the money-moving, it does basically use Section 37 money for an operating budget use. Nunziata says she'll ponder the matter.

Councillor Crisanti asks whether he could use Section 37 funds to pay for free TTC fares for seniors. City lawyer Wendy Walberg, so close to retirement, says she wouldn't recommend that. Then the CFO again explains how the Malik/Chow motion moves money around.

Nunziata rules the motion is in order. She admits there might be some problems with the title, but the actual recommendations are consistent with the rules re: Section 37 fund usage.

"The most upsetting part about it is to call it a 'win'," says Holyday re: the outcome of the island airport fight. He says the outcome just means more flights out of Pearson, with more planes that fly over Etobicoke. He says that's a "loss" for a lot of people, and not worth celebrating.

"The characterization of this motion is a victory lap, and a win, and a reward for people that got civically active in the federal government's consultation that led them to their decision — but just don't forget about the people who didn't get a win in the west end of the city," says Holyday.

The Malik/Chow motion to offer free kids & senior fares on the Toronto Island ferry for the month of August, in celebration of the island airport win, is APPROVED 15-5.

Holy hell, it's over. Council completes the FINAL agenda of the 2022-2026 term at about 9:47 p.m. Mayor Olivia Chow rises to present some flowers to Nunziata. The speaker gets a standing ovation. "452 items!" notes Chow.

The mayor also has another gift: some scotch for retiring councillor Gord Perks. He gets another standing ovation too.

(See what you get when you retire, councillors? Mayoral booze! Just something worth considering. Ahem.)

Perks takes a seat at the Clerk's desk for the final vote of the term, to confirm various bills and bylaws. He announces the result: "The vote carries, 22 in favour and none opposed," he says. Hey he's pretty good at this.

"Let's celebrate, right? Meeting is adjourned!" says Nunziata. Speaking of celebrating, if you enjoyed this thread and found it useful, consider a subscription to my newsletter, City Hall Watcher. It funds coverage like this and supports indie journalism. toronto.cityhallwatcher.com/subscribe