Many in Toronto still without power after weekend ice storm

Tens of thousands of Canadians were still without power on Christmas Day after a weekend ice storm, Toronto Hydro Corp. said Wednesday. The utility said its crews had restored power to about 221,000 of its customers, leaving about 79,000 still without electricity. The utility said crews worked through the night. "We've restored all critical customers (TTC, water services, etc.) and crews continue to repair priority feeders, which will restore the largest groups of customers at one time," Toronto Hydro said in a release. "Crews will then respond to more localized outages, which affect streets or individual homes." Toronto Hydro said other utilities, including Hydro Ottawa, Sault St. Marie PUC, Enwin and Manitoba Hydro, were assisting its crews in getting power restored to the parts of Ontario still in the dark. Toronto Hydro said the city was still operating emergency centers for people in need of food, water, warmth and rest. CTV News reported Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said Tuesday the outage would drag on for a few more days. "We're going to aim, for our very best, for Thursday or Friday," he said, adding later he had told city workers "to put their Christ4mas on hold." "Our priority is the residents of this city." Ford's recent admission of substance abuse, which led to him being stripped of most of his executive powers, put him out of direct communication with provincial leaders, who also were dealing with the storm cleanup. Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said she was dealing with Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly instead, CTV News said. "I have said consistently that we are dealing with the decision makers at city hall," she said. "My officials are in touch with the city on a constant basis as they are with other municipalities. So I will continue to work with the people who make decisions at city hall."