Toronto city council approves extending mayor's emergency powers

TORONTO -- Toronto city council unanimously approved a motion Thursday that extends emergency powers allowing Mayor John Tory to act on behalf of the city until the COVID-19 state of emergency has been terminated.

The motion means the mayor does not need to have an emergency regulation approved by council.

"This extension will ensure the municipal government can continue to respond quickly to the emergency, administer other necessary City business, plan for recovery and focus on protecting the health of all residents,"the city said in a news release issued Thursday evening.

The council also approved the extension of the city’s physical distancing bylaw within the same timeframe.

The news comes during the city’s first virtual council meeting, which appears to have gone off without too many technical difficulties.

In what is the first meeting of its kind, councillors logged on to their computers Thursday for a special virtual city council where they were scheduled to discuss Toronto’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as a few select other matters.

The first motion tabled was meant to amend procedures allowing remote and electronic participation in council and committee meetings during emergencies.

Many councillors asked why they could not meet in their usual chambers if they keep themselves appropriately distanced from their colleagues, comparing themselves to their provincial counterparts who have met in-person, albeit on a reduced capacity, and other municipalities who have begun regular operations.

An amendment was tacked on to the motion asking the city solicitor, with advice from the city’s medical officer of health, to report back on the possibility of hosting committee and council meetings in-person. While city officials said there were ways for members of the public to take part in meetings, such as written depositions, staff will work towards finding a way people can participate electronically or over the phone.

“We have to have more people involved beside YouTubers,” Councillor Mike Colle said when asked about the 730 people who were watching the council session online at the time.

Committee meetings and public consultations at city hall were suspended when Toronto Mayor John Tory declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Much of the work leading up to when councillors get together monthly are done in these meetings.

“We are losing a lot during this pandemic," Councillor James Pasternak said during the meeting. "The stories are heartbreaking whether it be businesses or illness or fatalities but one thing I think we don’t have to lose is our democratic values.”

The city’s clerk indicated that staff who usually write the reports for committee meetings have been reassigned to support emergency measures, which may create obstacles if council wanted to host committee meetings through the pandemic.

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam added that hearing the voice of Toronto residents was especially important due to COVID-19 and that if lack of resources is the reason why committee meetings shouldn’t be held, then perhaps the city should find ways not to be “unnecessarily bureaucratic.”

“We need to hear from our residents, and the business owners and the people who come through the City of Toronto more than ever before,” she said.

“This particular meeting is long overdue. We have been unable to give opportunities to residents to hear one another in open and transparent ways. They have not been able to inform our decision making in a true democratic setting until just now.”

The last city council meeting was held two months ago on February 25.

Council meeting ‘real big test’ on new, virtual reality

City staff indicated the council meeting will be the first “real big test” on how Toronto can resume its business electronically. Councillors used an online video conferencing platform called WebEx for the meeting in an effort to adhere to physical distancing regulations.

A few select city staff were at city hall—sitting at least two metres apart. Everyone else was working from their home offices or makeshift work areas.

MORE: Behind the scenes of Toronto’s first virtual meeting

An hour and a half into the meeting, Councillor Jim Karygiannis had the first major technical issue of the day. He tried to ask a question when his audio cut out. When asked if he has his audio set up correctly, he responded by saying “I have it on very properly.”

The audio did not improve.

Every once in a while Councillor Frances Nunziata, who also acts as council speaker, would ask her colleagues to repeat their statements, saying “Councillor, we did not hear you,” or “We can see you but not hear you.”

Some councillors took a while to respond after the lunch break, either because they hadn’t returned to their screens or they were still muted.

The issues weren’t limited to those working from home. Toronto’s city manager experienced issues with his audio when trying to answer questions about the city’s COVID-19 response.

It seems like his mic is muted,” someone said. “He unmuted it and then muted it again.”

Aside from the select technical difficulties, there have been few other issues so far.

Voting on motions and amendments became a bit of an arduous process, however, as each individual councillor was asked to unmute themselves to say whether or not they were in favour of the action. The voting process is usually completed at the push of a button in the council chambers.