In the wake of the budget defeat, Rob Ford compares his opponents to dogs
After a large portion of his proposed budget was dismantled, Rob Ford, ever gracious, did what any classy politician would do: he compared his opposition to dogs. Of his fellow, apparently money-hungry councillors, Ford offered this: “They see money in front of them, it is like putting food in front of a dog, they can’t just resist.” Needless to say, the mayor isn’t exactly thrilled with Josh Colle’s surprise omnibus motion—the product of some serious back-room politicking—to save $15 million in service cuts by digging into the city’s surplus.
We turn to our friends at Torontoist for a summary of what was saved:
• School-based childcare rent subsidy • Childcare centre programming • Priority Centre Youth programs • Ice-rink funding • Pool funding • CPIP community grants • Funding to shelters • (Eliminated) proposed user fees for children, youth and seniors in priority centres • $5 million to the TTC budget (to prevent service reductions) • Mechanical leaf collection services
There were other major changes to Ford’s original proposal, too, like reversing certain cuts to the Toronto Public Library and saving the Immigrant Women’s Health Centre. Of course, council did vote in favour of a modest 2.5 per cent tax increase, which is a small victory for Ford, and the city’s operating budget will be smaller this year than it was last year—something we know Ford really, really wanted (he even proclaimed the feat “absolutely unheard of”). The larger story, though, is that there was a notable move toward the middle at council yesterday. We’ll be interested to see what that means for the Ford agenda moving forward.
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