After a long day of debating, Toronto City Council has rejected a proposal to ask Queen's Park to deem the TTC an essential service.
The vote was a tight one coming in at 23 to 22 against the motion.
Making the TTC an essential service would mean that employees would not be able to strike, at least not legally. Mayor David Miller and his supporters defended the current model, as does the Toronto Transit Commission's management and the Amalgamated Transit Union.
The TTC went on strike in April after union president Bob Kinnear verbally promised a 48-hour warning of such action. Transit riders were given about two hours notice before the two-day strike started, stranding thousands of people.
The system is the country's largest public transit service providing service to 1.5 million people daily.
However, council did vote to call on Queen's Park to deem Wheel Trans an essential service.
Also at City Hall today the city's capital budget was presented to the budget committee and it commits $800 million over the next five years for road repairs.
