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On the same day City Manager Chris Murray put out a briefing note advising council the city will be subject to an estimated $177.6-million in budget pressures this year due to provincial “funding changes,” Mayor John Tory and two city councillors were on a business trip in Los Angeles.

Without the slightest trace of embarrassment, Tory appeared on TV talking about the cuts and about this his third successive trip to Hollywood in the past three years.

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If past history is any indication, this year’s trip will cost $10,000-plus.

Look, I really have no problem with the idea of selling Toronto’s vibrant film and TV business or meeting with industry insiders. But I have no clue what was accomplished during the last two trips.

Besides, if you’re going to whine about how hard done by the city is thanks to the provincial budget, the optics of being in Hollywood while you do so are not that good.

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I certainly wouldn’t be saying on TV, as Tory did, that he was holding a party of industry insiders the same night.