It may be a local issue, but Toronto mayor Rob Ford continues to get national attention.
After offering citizens an opportunity to address his executive committee on budget cuts at city hall, Ford vowed to go all day and night on July 28 to get through the nearly 350 scheduled speakers.
It was a novel exercise in civic democracy.
After close to 22 hours — reportedly the longest city hall meeting since amalgamation — the councillors made it through about 200 deputations. But Ford may have gotten more than he bargained for, with a vast majority of deputants coming to city hall to defend services on the chopping block, including parks, libraries, and community grants.
Throughout it all, taxpayers, community organizers, and journalists were tweeting to keep the rest of the city informed on events inside Toronto's clamshell. They documented how Kevin Clarke interrupted the session, the sarcastic advice of #yellygranny, how Ford twice referred to "liberries," and Councillor Adam Vaughan grilling of auditors.
Here's our round-up of some of the most informative, funny, and shocking tweets that came from the marathon session.