Toronto council strengthens oversight of major events after watchdog flags potential FIFA risks

Hamilton Spectator

5 days ago

Toronto council has agreed to impose stronger oversight over decisions to host major events, after a municipal watchdog found that a lack of transparency around the city's bid to stage the 2026 FIFA World Cup could have exposed it to significant risks.
In
a report presented to council on Wednesday
, auditor general Tara Anderson examined council's February 2018 decision that authorized the city manager to sign up for the bid launched by Canada, the U.S. and Mexico to host the international soccer tournament. Toronto is scheduled to host six games starting June 12, 2026.
Anderson found that while council made joining the bid conditional on the federal and provincial governments pledging to share hosting costs, the city didn't get those commitments before the March 2018 deadline to join. Instead, soon after the council vote staff signed an agreement with Canada Soccer to withdraw from hosting duties if Toronto didn't get funding guarantees from the other governments by June 2020. The agreement wasn't made public at the time, and was first
reported by Star last year
.
City staff didn't report back to council on the World Cup plans until March 2022, four years after council's 2018 decision. The update didn't provide details of the withdrawal agreement — which was extended 'multiple times,' the auditor found — or explain how staff had mitigated risks related to the lack of intergovernmental funding, which at the time the city had still not nailed down.
The auditor general found staff should have reported to council earlier about the conditions for pulling out of the bid, which would have allowed councillors 'to make an informed decision to continue (to pursue hosting rights) or withdraw.'
The watchdog also noted that the initial estimate staff provided to council in 2018 pegged hosting costs at between $30 million and $45 million, a figure that didn't include the price of security, which staff said at the time was impossible to predict so far before the tournament. Toronto's overall hosting costs have now risen to $380 million, with the city responsible for almost $180 million. In May 2024, the federal government pledged $104 million, and while Ontario announced in February 2024 it had conditionally committed $97 million, negotiations are ongoing over how Queen's Park's contribution will be allocated.
Anderson concluded that in future, staff should include all costs that could fall under the city's responsibility in early estimates to ensure 'city council has all relevant information to make an informed decision.'
'City council's limited visibility into the agreement terms, combined with staff not providing timely updates, could have left the city exposed to potential financial, operational, and reputational risk,' the report concluded. 'It is important that when council decides to delegate authority, that staff still appropriately report back to update council in a timely manner.'
In a politically charged discussion before the vote on Anderson's report, councillors quizzed the city integrity commissioner over an investigation by his predecessor into former mayor John Tory. Under questions from Coun. Paula Fletcher (Ward 14, Toronto-Danforth) and others, Paul Muldoon recounted how
the October 2023 report from then commissioner Jonathan Batty
found Tory broke ethics rules when he voted in 2022 to advance Toronto's World Cup plans, which are being executed in partnership with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE).
At the time, Tory was in a relationship with a woman that began while she was a staffer in his office, and continued when she took a job at MLSE, where she worked on the World Cup file.
Tory
resigned over the relationship in February 202
3, shortly after it was revealed by the Star. According to sources, he is considering running for mayor again next year, and polls suggest he would be the biggest threat to Mayor Olivia Chow.
Fletcher said that while the World Cup will be fun for the city, Toronto is being left with a '$400 million hangover' in hosting costs.
Because of the lack of rigorous oversight, 'we're left wondering (whether) MLSE got a really great deal for FIFA, and maybe we didn't get the best deal for FIFA,' said Fletcher, who sits on Chow's executive committee.
'We need to be careful and squeaky clean in this city when we're making these very big financial decisions,' she said.
In response to concerns about rising costs, Chow had instituted a new council governance structure for the tournament
in March 2024
, which Anderson determined had strengthened oversight. The auditor's report made seven recommendations intended to improve guidelines for future international events — such as developing policies to ensure council is informed of major changes to projects delegated to staff, and drafting principles for bidding on major events, including risk assessments — each of which council either approved or enhanced.