Latest news with #TaraAnderson
Toronto Star
6 days ago
- Politics
- Toronto Star
Toronto council strengthens oversight of major events after watchdog flags potential FIFA risks
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.
Hamilton Spectator
6 days ago
- Business
- Hamilton Spectator
Toronto council strengthens oversight of major events after watchdog flags potential FIFA risks
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.
CBC
05-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Toronto still struggling to track snow plows with GPS, auditor finds
Social Sharing The city's plan to use GPS and field checks to track the work of snow-clearing contractors is still ineffective, Toronto's auditor general found in a new report. The key finding is part of a follow-up review of the city's snow-clearing service, which has been plagued with questions about effectiveness and efficiency, especially after it inked a controversial deal in 2021. Those questions grew louder after Torontonians filed tens of thousands of complaints to 311 in the wake of back-to-back-to-back storms that paralyzed streets this winter. Mayor Olivia Chow, who called last winter's storm response a "failure," is looking forward to reviewing the auditor's latest report, her office said in an emailed statement. "Ultimately, Torontonians expect snow to be cleared — we are going to get it fixed so this doesn't happen again," said Zeus Eden, Chow's press secretary. Auditor Tara Anderson first looked at snow clearing with a damning probe of the service in 2023, which showed the contractors struggled to get equipment on time and hire enough staff. In this follow-up, she found city staff still haven't implemented nine recommendations her office made, despite officials claiming all 30 had been completed. The GPS matter is especially key, her report notes, because it's the primary way the city tracks what work is getting done during a storm and whether it should be applying penalties to the contractors for not getting their plows out on time. "Ongoing GPS dashboard reliability issues hinder the Division's ability to monitor contractor performance," Anderson said in one document. Further, she said, "significant effort is spent manually comparing expected routes with GPS information, which is labour-intensive and time consuming." The auditor's review also shows, for the first time, how much money the city has sought from contractors stemming from performance issues. Anderson found staff are using an "inefficient, unsustainable, and unreliable method" to penalize the companies for non-compliance. Councillors voted in March for a full review of how the city handles its winter operations, which Chow's office said should be released this month. Councillors will first get a chance to ask the auditor questions about this report next Friday. CBC Toronto sent several questions to the transportation services division but did not receive answers by publication time. This story will be updated. New details about how city monitors contractors Some 70 per cent of snow-clearing in Toronto is handled by private companies. In 2021, the city inked a deal that saw two companies and their joint venture win the rights to handle almost all of that work, the only exceptions being the Willowdale area and the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway. Three years in, Anderson found there are still issues with tracking the contractors' performance via GPS. Specifically, her new report states the "GPS dashboard used to monitor route completion is still not effective," noting it also suffers from "reliability issues." Multiple city councillors voiced frustration during the March meeting, recounting times where they were told by staff that streets had been plowed when they could see with their own eyes that wasn't the case. In response, transportation staff noted field audits — when staff go out to check on conditions — also take place. However, Anderson's report shows how little ground is covered by those audits and recommended the city use longer street segments to figure out where things are going wrong. The city's field audits, Anderson found, range in length from 60 metres to 1.36 kilometres. In total, she found the city was reviewing just two per cent of the contract area per storm. Worse, about half of those audits were missing "one or more" pieces of information. Penalties far lower than staff had suggested The auditor has previously flagged major changes to how the city penalizes companies, and this report has some final dollar figures. In 2023-2024, the city charged $43,000 in liquidated damages, Anderson found (liquidated damages are an amount of money, agreed to by both sides during a contract negotiation, to be paid out by one of the parties if a provision of that contract is breached). It also charged $381,000 in disincentives. In 2024-2025 (as of January) the city charged $63,000 in liquidated damages and $195,000 in disincentives.
USA Today
28-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Disney World reveals official start date for Disney Starlight nighttime parade
Disney World reveals official start date for Disney Starlight nighttime parade Show Caption Hide Caption Disney World, Disneyland to get new theme park lands and attractions Disney announced new lands and attractions for its global theme parks at its 2024 D23 fan event, including "Monsters, Inc." and villains-themed areas. For the first time in nearly a decade, Walt Disney World will have a nighttime parade for everyday guests. Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away will debut at Magic Kingdom on July 20, the Florida resort shared Tuesday. The parade was first announced at D23: The Ultimate Disney Fan Event last summer, but the start date had been under wraps. Inspired by its long-running predecessor, the beloved Main Street Electrical Parade, Disney Starlight will center on the power of a wish and feature a mix of characters from classic and contemporary Disney Animation and Pixar films. 'What guests are going to be able to get in this parade is a nod to the past but also eyes firmly set on the future,' Tara Anderson, show director with Disney Live Entertainment, said in a teaser video shared by Disney Parks. 'So you're going to hear melodies from older films, newer films in a very magical, mystical way.' The Blue Fairy, whom guests may remember from 'Pinocchio,' will power the illuminated parade with her magic. Other characters will include Elsa, Moana, Asha from 'Wish,' members of the Madrigal family from 'Encanto,' Miguel and Pepita from 'Coco,' Peter Pan and Wendy, various Disney princesses with their princes, Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse , and more. A train, inspired by the Main Street Electrical Parade, will be among the many floats. This is Disney World's first regular nighttime parade since 2016. Other nighttime parades, like Mickey's Boo-To-You Halloween Parade and Mickey's Once Upon a Christmastime Parade, are exclusive to specially ticketed after-hours events and not included with standard park admission like Disney Starlight will be.
