Toronto Public Berates Ford and Budget Cuts for 20 Hours

More than 160 Torontonians took Rob Ford up on his offer to voice their views on looming budget cuts.

A few weeks after a contentious back-to-work motion led to the longest-ever filibuster in House of Commons history, public consultations over budget cuts in Toronto led to the city's longest-ever committee meeting. Starting before noon on Thursday and wrapping up around 8 a.m. on Friday, the session heard from more than 160 speakers (including one sock puppet) who came to more or less tell Mayor Rob Ford that he can take his budget cuts and shove them... you get the idea. According to the Star, Ford's only public comments came when he was asked by TSN's James Cybulski what his CFL picks were for the week, but hey, full credit to the guy for sticking around through the night, even if by the sounds of things he barely acknowledged most of the speakers' presence. Only two speakers spoke in favour of budget cuts proposed by auditing firm KPMG's review of city operations.