World Headlines: The inside story of John Tory's resignation

First Up

By Manuela Vega

Good morning. Here’s the latest on John Tory’s decision to resign, uncertainty at City Hall and the flying objects violating North American airspace.

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Steve Russell/The Star

city hall

The inside story of John Tory’s decision to resign

To Toronto residents, it came as a shock: the Star revealed that Mayor John Tory had engaged in an inappropriate, extended relationship with a much younger former staffer. Then came news that once seemed unthinkable — a resignation. But in the moments leading up to that decision, resigning seemed like Tory’s only option, David Rider reports. At best, the scandal would tank Tory’s reputation and his city would be mired in controversy. At worst, an integrity commissioner would investigate and publish a scathing report that would ultimately force him to resign anyhow. Here’s an inside look on how the news unfolded among Tory’s allies and what factors pushed the mayor to call it quits.

Context: The relationship began during the pandemic, while Tory was the woman’s boss, and ended early in 2023.
More: A source close to Tory said family members pushed him to resign. Tory’s spokesperson disputed that characterization, saying the mayor wanted to focus on his family. His wife declined to comment.
More: When do office relationships cross a line? Experts weigh in on the imbalance of power at the workplace.

Steve Russell/The Star

city hall

Uncertainty over Tory’s departure could have big budget consequences

With the mayor announcing Friday that he’ll be stepping down from his post, progressive councillors are hoping to seize the opportunity to reverse some of his budget decisions — particularly those around police spending, transit service and warming centres. But as of Sunday afternoon, Tory is still the mayor, having yet to officially submit a letter of resignation. As such, no one knows who will be mayor for the duration of the 2023 budget process, Ben Spurr reports. Here’s what we know about the possibilities.

Context: The 2023 budget is the first in the city created under the controversial new strong-mayor legislation, which limited councillors’ chances to make major alterations.
Watch for: When Tory does officially resign, council will declare his seat vacant and Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie will take over until a byelection is held. Council is set to debate the budget at a special meeting on Wednesday.

Canadian Press/Patrick Doyle

canada

The U.S. military has shot down a fourth flying object in just over a week

On Feb. 4, American fighter jets shot down a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon off the coast of South Carolina. On Friday and Saturday, they shot unidentified cylindrical objects over Alaska and Yukon. Then on Sunday, Defence Minister Anita Anand said another “high-altitude object” was detected in U.S. airspace over Lake Huron — much closer to heavily populated areas in southern Ontario and the U.S. East Coast. The Canadian Press reports on what little is known about the objects and how officials are handling them.

More: Recovery efforts are underway to find and analyze all the objects known to have violated North American airspace. Only the first balloon shot down is confirmed to have originated in China.
ICYMI: The incidents create new urgency for Ottawa ’s promises to upgrade Canada’s Arctic defence capability.

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ICYMI

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CLOSE-UP

Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

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Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at firstup@thestar.ca. I’ll see you back here tomorrow.

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