No Councillor But Still an Eye-Opener

The earlybirds

About sixteen of us participants and instructors from MicroSkills Language Centre were treated to a presentation and walking tour of City Hall today, led by Chris, an education officer with the City of Toronto.

Chris presenting on the City of Toronto

Greeted promptly at 10 a.m., we were led to a basement auditorium for a PowerPoint and video introduction to the political, economic, services, and other aspects of the municipal government. Councillor Carroll was in, and we were hoping she might pop in for a photo op. Well, I guess it never happened.

Artist who donated this picture gets a tax break

From there we headed to the Council Chamber, where a meeting by some bird protection agency was in progress. We silently marched in there, took our places in the public gallery, took some pictures, listened to the drone of the presenter, and then quietly slipped out the back.

Mayor's Office

Toronto's Coat of Arms

 Councillors in Session and at Rest

Time Capsule by Kids

And then we headed for Mayor David Miller's office. Only his office, as we couldn't go in. But we did get to see his bemedalled Mayor's Chain, the latest Council portrait, our City's Coat of Arms, and a time capsule created by schoolchildren, to be opened in 2050. Further down the hall was our Councillor's office, but I guess it didn't make a lot of sense to rouse her.

Memorial Chamber to WWII Fallen

We made our way back to ground floor and visited the Chamber of Memories and Pillar dedicated to the "new" (and fourth) City Hall's Finnish architect. I was personally impressed at how the huge Council Chamber sat on a funnel-like hollow pillar. All too soon, the visit was over, and our great host, Chris, handed us City Hall pins and Toronto Park Maps.