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Councillor Michael Thompson recounts how Moscoe would show up at his door and make him go to the casino with him. "I could never say no to Howard." Thompson also calls him a "court jester" and a "really kind person -- he loved this city."

Councillor Paul Ainslie tells us that Howard Moscoe had a fondness for kosher potato chips, but his wife and assistant wouldn't let him eat them. So AInslie would get the chips and deliver them to Moscoe in the underground parking lot. "You bring the chips, I'll bring the money — and we're all good"

Ainslie says he asked Moscoe one day why he was still serving as a city councillor. "How long you been here? Why are you still here?" "And he looked at me and said, 'You know, Paul, if you die in office, they name something after you.'"

Mayor Olivia Chow describes Moscoe as a "public transit champion." She tells us how Moscoe negotiated a deal where developers were required to give new condo residents a one-year Metropass.

Chow touts Moscoe's "principled mischief." She remembers him trying to do things like rename the Gardiner after Dalton McGuinty, in an attempt to get the province to upload the highway. "We didn't do it — I don't think any of it was totally legal," she laughs.

Councillor Paula Fletcher remembers how Moscoe got a bylaw passed requiring large retailers to provide public washrooms. "The Right to Tinkle," he called it.

Fletcher says Moscoe was one of only five councillors who voted against establishing the detention centre on Eastern Ave during the G20. He had the vote result on a plaque in his office, she says. "He was proud of that plaque until the very end."

Councillor Perks reminds us of Mammoliti's quest to erect the largest flagpole in the world. He remembers a Moscoe motion about it. "If memory serves, the motion was there would be a plaque in front of the flagpole saying, 'The City of Toronto congratulates Councillor Mammoliti on his erection.'"

Perks talks about a time there was a federal/provincial/municipal transit funding announcement, and Moscoe wasn't allowed to speak because he had made bumper stickers showing McGuinty stabbing Toronto in the back. "A deal point was Howard Moscoe could not speak at the press conference."

Councillor Thompson moves to defer the Ombudsman's report on TTC token refunds to the next council meeting, in July. That meeting is going to be one million items long and last one thousand years. But anyway, the deferral CARRIES via show of hands.

Council votes via show of hands to receive a report on adding seating at Nathan Phillips Square and other civic places. Report concluded it wasn't possible to add more seating this summer, but improvements are in the works for 2027. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Up now: a report updating council on the status of the Gardiner/DVP upload. The report says the upload will finally hit 100% in fall 2027, four years after deal was approved. We're uploading these highways via a 56K modem, apparently. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Councillor Fletcher wants to know what will happen with traffic enforcement and related costs on the Gardiner/DVP upload after province takes over. City Manager assumes a reallocation of funds as OPP takes charge, but details are TBD. Report coming as part of the police budget process for 2027.

Holyday asks who will be in charge of approving closures of the Gardiner/DVP for special events and maintenance after the upload completes. City Manager Paul Johnson says those decisions will be made by the province.

Deputy Mayor Malik asks how the upload impacts the city's work to improve the area under the Gardiner, like the Bentway. City Manager says the legal agreements are still being worked out. "The province is taking over the Gardiner and Don Valley Parkway, and that's it — not the stuff underneath."

Councillor Pasternak asks if there's anything in the agreement that prevents the province from applying tolls on the Gardiner/DVP. City Manager says no, but notes Ford gov has been very anti-toll. Johnson also confirms names of the highways won't change -- they won't be redesignated some 400-number

Councillor Ainslie points out that yesterday the city got $1.5 billion from the province through the Development Charge Reduction Program, and today they're confirming $4B+ through New Deal. "What's next?" he asks Chow. "Wait for it. There's still one more Council [meeting]," Chow says, laughing.

Malik moves to negotiate a framework that'll protect the city's ability to continue to work on improving the area under the Gardiner after the upload process completes.

Malik's motion CARRIES via show of hands. The framework for completing the Gardiner/DVP upload is APPROVED by Toronto Council, 23-1. These highways will officially be Doug Ford's problem, starting fall 2027.

Up now: Toronto Hydro's annual report. As part of their submission, they've outlined the work they're doing to try to make it easier to get new multiplexes connected to the power grid. secure.toronto.ca/council/agen...

Saxe says data centres come with "many issues" but "they're also essential — data sovereignty is critically important." "We need to have data centres be good grid citizens — they need to be good public citizens," she says.

Councillor Shelley Carroll, in questioning, wonders why the city can't just wait for a coming report on data centre impacts. She's also concerned about endorsing a pact that she has not had a chance to read. Council opts to delay consideration of this item to give councillors time to ponder.

Mayor Olivia Chow rises to note the Ambassador from Slovenia is here today. "It's Slovenia Day!" she says. He gets applause. Former councillor Joe Mihevc is here too. He gets applause as well, but less.