Toronto mayor John Tory announces resignation

In the meantime, Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie will fill the position.

Previously, the city would appoint a new mayor instead of holding an election, but the strong mayor powers introduced by Ford’s government require an election. In September 2022, Ontario passed Bill 3, which changes the powers of mayors in Toronto and Ottawa. This allows mayors to veto council decisions, hire and dismiss senior staff, and have more control over the city budget. In December 2022, this was extended with Bill 39, allowing mayors to pass bylaws with only one third of councillors in favour.

On Friday, February 10, Toronto mayor John Tory announced his resignation from office. Earlier the same day, the Toronto Star broke news of his relationship with a former member of his staff. The 31-year-old woman has not yet provided comment, but Tory admitted that “permitting this relationship to develop was a serious error in judgement on my part.” editors@thestrand.ca production manager production@thestrand.ca business manager business@thestrand.ca web web@thestrand.ca news news@thestrand.ca opinions opinions@thestrand.ca features features@thestrand.ca science science@thestrand.ca arts and culture artsandculture@thestrand.ca stranded stranded@thestrand.ca poetry poetry@thestrand.ca copyediting copy@thestrand.ca design design@thestrand.ca photo photo@thestrand.ca art art@thestrand.ca podcast strandcast@thestrand.ca social media socialmedia@thestrand.ca editorial

Upon reception of a formal resignation, the city council is set to declare the mayor’s seat vacant. This could happen as soon as Wednesday, February 15, when the councillors will discuss the 2023 budget. Once the seat is declared vacant, the city must pass a bylaw to hold a byelection within 60 days, according to the City of Toronto Act. The city clerk will then set a date for candidates to file nominations, and the election will take place 45 days after nomination day.

Tory’s resignation raises questions about the city’s budget, which has not yet been approved. His plan had received criticism from the public for proposing an increase in property taxes, as well as increasing the police budget. The 5.5 percent increase in property taxes, as well as a 1.5 percent increase in the city building fund, is intended to sustain frontline services and invest in public safety, transit, and emergency services. The 5.5 percent increase is below Toronto’s 6.6 percent inflation rate, in accordance with Tory’s pledge to keep taxes below inflation. However, residents are still concerned about the increase in living costs, given that living in Toronto is already expensive; 2022 saw a record number of people using Toronto-area food banks, many of whom have jobs. Meanwhile, the police budget increase is intended to improve response times to 911 calls. Some residents say that the money would be better spent on the city’s community crisis service, which dispatches mental health workers, instead of funding more armed police. It remains to be seen what the council will do with the budget plan following the mayor’s resignation.

I like long (no movement) walks in the snow, cat gogurts, and fuzzy worms on strings. You can usually find me hanging out (in spirit) in The Strand’s office, probably knocking over the brand new computer over just to see if it bounces. I’m looking for a nice kitty or puppy who I can run around with, snuggle up to, and who doesn’t mind eating off the same plate … so long as I still have my own to myself, of course. Fishers are welcome.

Fact about me that surprises people: I like the subway.

Green flags I look for: strong fishy odour, excessively waggy tail, an affinity for chasing mice. A shower thought I recently had: This sucks. Likes: The colour magenta, ice cubes, smooth jazz. Dislikes: Racoons, the colour turquoise, feet.

A very heart-y meow from me to you, Lucy

Happy Valentine’s Day, dear Strand readers!! This Valentine’s Day, we’re doing our very best to avoid three things: the Aphrodite Project (been there, done that), Tinder (for obvious reasons), and that hot, sexy someone you always see sitting in the second row on the left in your Monday lecture… they’re not that hot, it’s just the Northrop Frye basement lecture roomwithout-windows aesthetic playing tricks on your mind. (Trust us, we’ve been there.) As for the things we’ll be whole-heartedly indulging in, these include: showing love and appreciation to our besties, drinking a whole lot of tea (it's becoming comical at this point), and giving lots of behind-theear scratches to our mascot! Please excuse us if we seem tired. Like many people, we’ve been spending most of our energy trying to answer the question: is it actually possible to find true romantic love through dating apps?

The Strand has been the newspaper of record for Victoria University since 1953. It is published 12 times a year with a circulation of 800 and is distributed in Victoria University buildings and across the University of Toronto’s St. George campus.

The Strand flagrantly enjoys its editorial autonomy and is committed to acting as an agent of constructive social change. As such, we will not publish material deemed to exhibit racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, ableism, or other oppressive language.

This Love & Sex Issue brings you ruminations on love and sex (duh), explorations of the trials and tribulations of dating apps, and lamentations over the media’s obsession with romantic love. In

Opinions, Celena Ho details her experience using dating apps. In Arts and Culture, Peyton Skotidas provides a valiant defence of Galentine’s Day. Still looking for a Valentine? Fear not; you can find our annual “Date The Strand” spread in Features.

If you’ve been struck by cupid’s arrow, we wish you a splendid Valentine’s Day; if you’re spending Valentine’s with your besties, save us a spot; and if you’re abstaining from any V-Day celebrations, then we hope you have as many discounted chocolates as your heart desires <3.

See you in our next issue, which we are infinitely sad to report will be our last regular issue of Vol. 65, but now is not the time for sappy sentiments—we’ll save those for the next editorial….

With lots and lots of love,

Janna & Rion