WATCH: John Tory takes his seat as the city’s mayor in his first session of council.
TORONTO – The 2014 session of city council has begun and new mayor John Tory is promising progress.
“All of you, all of us, want what’s best for your ward, our city,” he said during his speech to city council.
“What [residents] want is visible progress, and soon, on a few critical and shared priorities. Transit and gridlock top this list.”
Tory campaigned on his SmartTrack transit plan, a train line that would span the city from Mississauga to Markham. He promised again Tuesday the line would be built in seven years along with the Scarborough subway.
He also promised a better relationship with other levels of government – something which had been strained in recent years due to Rob Ford’s scandals. Tory has said several times during the campaign and since election day, more provincial and federal funding would be needed to fix and upgrade the TTC.
Tory spent his first day as mayor of Toronto, Monday, in a meeting with Premier Kathleen Wynne. He said Tuesday he also looks forward to meeting with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Tory began his speech by thanking Rob Ford, his wife Barbara, and his two special guests, Former Premier Bill Davis and anti-violence advocate Louise Russo.
“She’s one of my heroes; she is the person who had unbelievable adversity befall her and then has devoted her life to kids to make sure they had a great life in this city,” he told reporters at city hall before the meeting.
READ MORE: A look back on Rob Ford’s 4 years as mayor
Canadian hockey commentator Don Cherry was picked by Rob Ford in 2010 for his inauguration and was criticized for calling cyclists and certain journalists “left-wing pinkos.”
Live coverage of the inauguration begins at 2 p.m.:
Comments