Hazel McCallion, arguably the most powerful mayor in Canada, is worried the firing of TTC general manager Gary Webster sends the wrong message to residents.

“One (Toronto) councillor made the comment that the staff must do what the mayor says ... that’s not the way it’s done here. We do not tell the staff what to bring forward in a report,” McCallion said at Wednesday’s council meeting in Mississauga.

“I hope our citizens know that council rules supreme. The mayor has no authority above council,” she said.

McCallion commented after Councillor Nando Iannicca raised the issue of Webster’s ouster on Tuesday by a group of councillors loyal to Ford.

“I have spent 25 years of my life telling constituents, ‘I can’t do that. I can’t tell a transportation commissioner what to think,’” Iannicca said. He referred to reports quoting Toronto Councillor Frank Di Giorgio that it’s the role of city bureaucrats to support a mayor’s mandate.

“I’ve told (constituents) the opposite of what they’re now being led to believe,” Iannicca said in response to Di Giorgio’s comments.

Other Mississauga councillors described the recent TTC drama as “sad” and “unfortunate,” echoing Iannicca’s concern that some Mississauga residents may think bureaucrats run city hall, not elected officials.

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