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Extra, Extra: No Olympics (For Now), East End Garbage, and Award-Winning Tap Water
Every weekday’s end, we collect just about everything you ought to care about or ought not to miss.
Photo by Katrin Shumakov from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
- Toronto will not submit a bid for the 2024 Summer Olympics. At a press conference atop Hero Burger in Nathan Phillips Square, John Tory explained that the timing for a bid wasn’t right, although he kept the door open to a future bid. Among the factors were a lack of private sector interest, uncertainty given an ongoing federal election, and a lack of time for due diligence following the Pan Am Games. And to be fair, we’re still getting over saying goodbye to PACHI.
- City Staff have recommended not to contract out waste collection east of Yonge Street. Garbage collection is collected by private contractors west of Yonge Street, but the city maintains their own service in the east. In a much-anticipated report, city staff write that the in-house waste collection has improved as a result of competition, and the difference in potential cost savings wouldn’t be worth the risk. In a statement, the mayor’s office appeared critical of the staff report, saying, “There are a number of unanswered questions in the report including private sector bid costs, which have been assumed and are not tested, and the impact, if any, new collective bargaining agreements could have on the city’s cost figures.”
- Toronto has won an award for the best-tasting tap water in Ontario, which is a real thing. The award was chosen by a popular vote at the annual Ontario Water Works Association conference, and Toronto beat out four other cities for that competed for the honour. We may not have the Olympics, but at least we can be satisfied with our tap water.
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