John Tory, amid scandal, will lead Toronto's budget debate. Here's what to watch for
CBC
Toronto is about to have one tense budget meeting Wednesday.
John Tory, who announced last Friday night he's stepping down as mayor following an extramarital affair with a staffer who used to work in his office, will preside over the meeting.
Tory's presence in the chamber will be controversial. If he does, in fact, tender his resignation after passing the city's $16-billion operating budget, he creates a situation where he will set the city on a specific course but won't be there to deal with any potential fallout.
If he doesn't resign, well, we'll get to that.
That said, one can also argue Tory should be present for the debate because, thanks to the "strong mayor" powers he asked Ontario's government to grant him, he is responsible for designing this budget. He is its champion.
Nobody really knows how this debate will go.
I've covered Tory and Toronto city council for a while now, so I'm going to do my best to answer some questions you might have — even if you've never watched a council meeting before — and lay out some storylines to watch for.
The council meeting officially begins at 9:30 a.m. ET. You'll be able to watch it live on CBCNews.ca.
There's some pomp at the beginning followed by some procedural stuff. Then councillors dive in with questions to city staff, which are often pointy questions aimed at drawing out a specific response to bolster an argument or motion the councillors plan to introduce later.
We'll find out pretty quickly what the meeting's tenor will be like.
Expect it to go all day. Some reporter advice for getting through it? Snacks are key.
Typically, Tory holds a news conference prior to the budget meeting. There's no news on that front yet.
There's also an open question about when, exactly, he will tender his resignation. His office has said only that he's working to ensure "an orderly transition." That statement went on to say: "Further details on the transition will be announced following the budget meeting."
You could read that as Tory filing his papers as soon as the budget vote is done. Or, this could drag on.
WARNING: This story details allegations of child abuse.
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