‘We have a budget deficit’: Toronto mayor quips full-sized Halloween candy not in the cards this year

It appears that tough times may hit kids where it hurts this Halloween — in the candy haul. Speaking with reporters at Toronto City Hall Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Olivia Chow was asked what she would be handing out for trick-or-treaters this year. “I just have some peanut butter cups and I have coffee crisps…” Chow said. “Full-sized?” Interjected one reporter. “No. We have a budget deficit, no?” Chow joked, alluding to the definitely scary $1.5 billion operating deficit the city faces. Toronto has been trying to figure out a way to fix its permanent funding arrangement in a "new deal" being worked out between the city and the province. Chow said Tuesday that the federal government is now expected to join the discussions, which are entering a critical phase ahead of an interim report due out next month. Chow also got into the Halloween spirit Tuesday by donning a construction worker outfit for part of the Executive Committee meeting, a nod to a new affordable housing plan being consider