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Tuesday, September 20, 2011 www.metronews.ca News worth sharing.
Ford eyes a compromise
Mayor says he won’t close libraries Pledged to fight for more child care but did not reject plan to eliminate 2,000 subsidized spaces through attrition Speakers at city hall limited to two minutes, down from the typical five COLIN MCCONNELL/TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE
Mayor Rob Ford indicated yesterday he is willing to compromise on proposed service cuts, at least when it comes to libraries, child care and cleaning of city streets. Speaking before a standingroom-only meeting of his executive committee, Ford said he would not support closing libraries or reducing street-cleaning or snow-clearing standards to balance the budget. He later told reporters the windrow-clearing program is cherished by residents of the suburban wards almost all his council allies represent. “I also am not ready to close libraries — I believe the chief librarian can find efficiencies, and possibly reduce some operating hours, to meet her budget targets,” Ford said at the meeting, which continued into the night. Ford’s statement on child care was more ambiguous. He said “we need to expand the number of affordable child-care spaces in our city,” and that any “changes” must be made “in a way that doesn’t hurt families who already depend on us for support.” By 10 a.m. at city hall, 361 peo-
Mayor Rob Ford attends the standing-room-only executive committee meeting at city hall. Belt-tightening measures brought on by the mayor to “cut the fat” at city hall are being debated.
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He stole their show While many old faces were among the speakers, it was three-year-old Teddy FilbyThorne who stole the show. Teddy and his mom, Erin Filby, 32, who live in the Yonge and Wellesley streets area, made the trip to city hall because of the proposed closure of Riverdale Farm. “Teddy’s first experience with anything but a chubby Labrador was at the farm,” Filby said. Teddy piped in that he also really likes the cows and riding his bike. Afterward, Ford asked if anyone had any questions. “I have questions!” Teddy authoritatively yelled into the mic, as the audience burst into laughter.
ple had registered to speak before the mayor’s 13-member executive committee, although dozens failed to show up when called. In July, the same committee sat for 22 hours straight and heard from 169 people. TORSTAR NEWS SERVICE