COUNCIL WATCH

For the civics nerds among you: liveblogs, original documents, procedure, and context—the nitty-gritty details behind the news from City Hall.

Resolving the Crisis of Legitimacy at City Hall
The Rob Ford saga has exposed structural flaws in our municipal government. Council should embrace this opportunity to repair them.

Scarborough Subway vs LRT? You Do the Math Interactive calculator! How much would each option really cost?

Meet a Toronto Mayor: John Powell Our fourth mayor earned his position by killing a rebel in 1837.

A History of Formal Complaints Against Rob Ford A full catalogue of the mayor’s legal entanglements.

MUNICIPAL BUDGET

A Guide to Toronto’s Budget Process
The city’s annual budget season has arrived. Here’s a step-by-step guide to how council’s negotiations will unfold, and how you can get more involved.

Your Handy Budget Glossary and Decoder Not sure what operating vs capital means? How much goes into reserves? Let us help.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Property Taxes It is Toronto’s most debated and least understood tax. A primer.

ELECTION UPDATES

• 2014 Hero: Toronto Voters Dec. 23, 2014 12:48 PM - Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains—the people, places, things, and ideas that have had the most positive and negative impacts on the city over the past 12 months. Cast your ballot until 5 p.m. on December 30. At noon on December 31, we’ll reveal your choices for Toronto’s Superhero and […]
• 2014 Villain: Doug Ford Dec. 23, 2014 12:47 PM - Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains—the people, places, things, and ideas that have had the most positive and negative impacts on the city over the past 12 months. Cast your ballot until 5 p.m. on December 30. At noon on December 31, we’ll reveal your choices for Toronto’s Superhero and […]

COLUMNIST: JOHN BARBER

• A Basic Truth of John Tory Jun. 4, 2015 9:30 AM - Whoever thought John Tory would be even weirder than Rob Ford? At this stage of his mandate four years ago, Ford was striding triumphantly from one success to another while his left-wing opposition sat on its hands, stunned into quiescence. But today, the supposedly sensible, rational, moderate John Tory stumbles around City Hall like a […]
• Skating on Thick Ice Jan. 27, 2015 11:45 AM - I looked forward to the possibility of some opportunistic urban skiing when I moved to the High Park neighbourhood last fall, but the single snowfall we’ve had since then lasted only one night and half a day. Still, I couldn’t help noticing that the snow-free winter, along with steady sub-zero temperatures, had produced perfect ice […]

ALL COUNCIL POSTS…

• Toronto City Council Agenda Preview: March 2017 Mar. 28, 2017 11:15 AM - City Council convenes this week for yet another Scarborough transit debate. But there’s much more on the agenda, including energy drinks, the Great Lakes, landlord licensing, the inexorable spread of Shoppers Drug Mart, and more. Read on for our picks.
• Municipal Budget 2017: The Special Council Meeting Liveblog Feb. 15, 2017 10:43 AM - Photo by Himy Syed from the Torontoist Flickr Pool.
• Suggestions for Norm Kelly’s Future 6ix Dad Merch Feb. 2, 2017 1:45 PM - Relief Line is your not-so-serious glance at the city we love. Word up, my fellow millennials! Are you looking for some “fire” new gear to impress your “BAE”? Well our very own 6ix Dad (a.k.a. Norm Kelly, a.k.a. @norm) has got you covered! Toronto’s illest conservative-minded septuagenarian is bringing you that “good shit” with his […]
• Parker: Forget the Short Pants, it’s About Better Transit Policy Feb. 1, 2017 9:00 AM - In December of 1974, Private Teruo Nakamura, a private in the Japanese army, was captured on the South Pacific island where he had been hiding out since the Second World War. His captors had to explain to him that his country had surrendered 29 years earlier. First, the good news: apart from any other members of Private […]
• The January/February 2017 Toronto City Council Liveblog, Day One (Contracting out Garbage, Redux) Jan. 31, 2017 9:45 AM - Photo by Himy Syed from the Torontoist Flickr Pool. The first council debate of 2017 is also the last one before they move on to the budget in mid-February. In light of the road tolls snafu, expect references to how the Province doesn’t treat the City fairly, and John Tory’s allies going out of their […]
• Toronto City Council Agenda Preview: January/February 2017 Jan. 31, 2017 8:45 AM - Need a break from the dumpster fire of current affairs? How about a fiery debate about dumpster privatization? Here’s our overview of the agenda for Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
• Mayors Work to Secure Housing Funding, But Is it Enough? Jan. 30, 2017 9:30 AM - Mayor John Tory suffered a political embarrassment at the hands of Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne late last week when she refused his request to institute tolls on two highways. But he seemed to have better luck with the federal government when he, as part of a caucus of Canadian mayors, presented a proposal for housing […]
• Wynne Says No to Tory’s Tolls, So What’s Next? Jan. 27, 2017 3:15 PM - Kathleen Wynne announced this morning that the Province would deny Toronto City Council’s request to implement road tolls on the DVP and Gardiner. In lieu of the ability to toll the two urban highways that the Province downloaded onto the City’s balance sheet, Wynne announced today that gas tax funding would be increased starting in […]