Daniel Dale says he will proceed with libel action against Rob Ford after the window of opportunity for the mayor to formally apologize passed. Dale has up to three months to prepare a statement of claim against Ford for the case to continue. "I would have very much preferred to not be carrying on and just accepting a retraction and apology, but since an apology hasn't been received, I'm moving forward on this," Dale told The Globe and Mail.
It could be a slow commute this morning: 10 cms of snow is expected to fall in the next few hours, covering recently cleared roads. Environment Canada issued a special weather statement about the lake effect snow for the regions of Halton, Peel, York, Durham and Toronto last night. At King and Jarvis, a car skidded into a fire hydrant, creating a sheet of ice across the intersection. The TTC isn't reporting any delays on the 504 streetcar.
Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti billed taxpayers $25,000 for renovations to his constituency office, the Star reports. The expenses, though completely legal, are "unusual," according to the paper. Mammoliti spent the money renovating a former classroom at Carmine Stefano Community Centre after he said constituents complained about the location of his old office on Wilson Ave.
Rob Ford is hoping to contract out garbage collection east of Yonge St. before 2015. At a press conference yesterday, Ford said he hopes Green For Life will take over garbage and recycling services in the remainder of the city. He said contracting out waste service in the west has saved the city $12 million. Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong said he wants the same by spring 2014.
Councillors Maria Augimeri and Josh Colle are early favourites to replace mayoral hopeful Karen Stintz as TTC chair. As the Star notes, Colle has historically favoured Stintz's pro-subway stance for Scarborough while Augimeri has leaned in favour of light rail. Council will decide in Feb. 2014 who gets to lead one of the city's most volatile files.
Finally, Rob Ford and Giorgio Mammoliti will be asked to apologize when council resumes this morning after last night's meeting ended in chaos. Speaker Frances Nunziata abruptly cut the meeting short after failing several times to eject Mammoliti from the chamber. "The mayor said, 'Only the corrupt ones get to stay,'" said Councillor Gord Perks, which added to the ruckus.
"I had to adjourn the meeting, everybody was screaming and being disruptive ... Councillor Mammoliti wouldn't stop and the mayor wouldn't stop," Nunziata told the Sun. Mammoliti was objecting to city staff commenting on motions before they were being voted on.
IN BRIEF:
- Chief Blair addresses use of lethal force after Queen subway shooting [Globe and Mail]
- Racial bias alleged in wrongful arrest suit against Toronto officers [CBC News]
- Ukrainian community protests in Toronto [Toronto Sun]
- Beer Store invests $30 million in redesigned stores [Toronto Star]
- Sidney Crosby propels depleted Penguins past Leafs [CBC News]
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Image: Bruce Wang/blogTO Flickr pool.