And that takes us to the lunch break. Council will be back at 2 p.m. They're scheduled to debate the next steps of the rental housing incentive program. A new report says they received lots of applications.

See you in 90 minutes or so.

Council is back, finally. And look, I spy the Grey Cup in the chamber. They are set to celebrate the CFL Champion Toronto Argonauts for their football accomplishments.

Mayor Chow takes the lectern and yells "ARRRRRRGOS." Some councillors respond, saying, "Arrrrrgos."

"Losing is the fast track to winning — know that," says Pinball Clemons. "We learn more oftentimes from our losses than we do from our wins."

He closes by quoting MLK Jr: "Power, at its best, is love. The two are synonymous."

Councillors want to take a photo around the Grey Cup. Councillor Perruzza hoists it on his shoulder. "Don't drop it!" implores Councillor Chris Moise. He doesn't.

Everyone then says cheese or their customary equivalent.

Councillor Bradford when trying to ask questions of housing staff is frustrated after Nunziata shuts off his microphone after his time runs out.

"I gave you an extra minute — and you were not allowing the staff to answer, and you were being very rude," explains Nunziata.

Continuing his victory lap, Perks says groups RESCON & BILD said this program wouldn't work. He says RESCON claimed no one would apply because of requirement to include 20% affordable units.

"A key lesson there - don't believe the industry when they say they need more subsidy."

Councillor Bradford says Toronto is in the middle of a "housing starts crisis."

"Folks are pretty happy to take a victory lap but I can't square that with the numbers or the lack of progress," he says.

Bradford asks Chow why this incentive program is better than just providing general relief to development charges and other fees for builders.

"We don't have the financial capacity to do so," Chow says.

Holyday asks Chow about how the city is going to pay for infrastructure needs if we're letting these developers off the hook from development charges and reducing their property taxes.

"Ah, I thought you're from a school of thought that believes in 'axing the tax!'" Chow says.

Council has jumped back to the earlier item about the city setting up a housing development office.

Holyday has concerns. "If the for-profit development industry is struggling so much, how are we supposed to give it a go ourselves as a public entity?"

"The public builder approach is an ideological one," says Bradford. He disagrees that you need to build bureaucracy to build housing. "Government never does it faster and for less money."

"It's a lot of talk but not a lot of action," he says. Sounds like a campaign slogan.