TORONTO, Ont. – Toronto City Council decided Tuesday to waive fees for sports fields for children and youth.

Every single councillor who rose to speak said they did not want to see the fees instituted this year, and then voted 41-0 to hold off on them for at least one more year. Mayor Rob Ford was not in attendance at the vote, after pulling a muscle in his back during lunch. He was immediately taken to a doctor’s office.

Initially, the mayor had not been in favour of the fees, but was expected to change his mind after receiving calls and letters from constituents who supported it. As a result, some councillors are giving Ford credit.

“I think the Mayor realized that there are a lot of people out there who benefit from these sporting events and therefore come on side, come on with the women and lets solve this problem,” Councillor Sarah Doucette told 680News.

Andrew Pace, the president of the East York Baseball Association, told 680News council made the right decision.

“We cannot let user fees impact the number of people that participate in sport. That’s just simply not fair to those who just don’t have the same means as others,” said Pace.

Councilor Adam Vaughan agreed.

“You don’t ding kids to play sports or to join a theatre group in the city. That’s the kind of activity you need to make affordable and fair to people,” Vaughan said. “I’m glad that the mayor and his allies have finally realized that charging kids to play sports was just a bad way to go in this city.”

Earlier Tuesday, Mayor Ford told council “this is an extremely important issue. We all support youth getting out, using our fields, getting exercise, working with others. I really appreciate if you could support this motion.”  

Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti agreed with the mayor, saying it’s all about putting people first.

“Children have to be our priorities. Seniors have to be our priorities. So it’s time for us now, after we’ve done what we’ve needed to do, to rethink about our priorities as a city.”

But the majority of other councillors were angered by the idea, saying it could be more detrimental than helpful.

“I don’t think anyone here is taking the seriousness of this situation,” said David Shiner. “There are many groups that can’t afford these fields and don’t want to pay for it if the fields aren’t properly maintained.”

It’s now expected that the fees will be introduced into the 2013 budget. In the meantime, Mayor Ford has requested the city manager talk to members of sports leagues and teams to see how the extra costs would affect leagues and teams. He will receive the report in July, at which point the city will figure out how to work the fees into the budget in 2013.

As for the High Park Zoo, Councillor Sarah Doucette told CityNews Monday night that a generous donation has kept the possibilities open. The Honey Family Foundation has vowed to match donations up to $50,000 over the next three years.

In other City Hall developments, Toronto Council has voted unanimously, Tuesday, to ratify the agreement between the city and CUPE Local 79′s part-time parks and recreation workers, after coming to the agreement last week.