The bordello option is gaining steam with support from some Toronto city councillors who say it will bring millions of dollars into the cash-starved city. They remain keen as the federal government has confirmed it will take the matter to the Supreme Court.

The push for the sex dens in Toronto has intensified as some advocates call for a downtown red light district. Others want sex to be sold and packaged like the Nevada-based Moonlite Bunny Ranch, a legal brothel near Carson City, Nev., whose officials will travel here in June on a fact-finding tour.

Prostitution was made legal after the court struck down a ban on brothels last month, saying it puts prostitutes in danger and they should be allowed to work safely indoors.

A campaign to make prostitution mainstream is being closely monitored by U.S. border states that predict tourism will spike in Canada from American men visiting brothels.

“Americans for decades have crossed the bridges to Canada to sample Chinese food, sometimes-lower gas prices, the ‘Canadian ballet’ and the lower drinking age of 19,” declared the Buffalo News on April 10. “Starting next year, they could head there for a different purpose – to visit Ontario’s brothels. And it all could be legal.”

Advocates for brothels claim rooms for sex romps can be constructed to existing Toronto strip clubs, which are already zoned for sex use. Nurses will be on site to conduct medical checks on sex workers and there will be security cameras in common areas and emergency alarms in the sex stalls to protect women.

Club owners said the prostitutes will undergo training and must pass a police background security check before they’re hired.

Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, chairman of the community development and recreation committee, said the city stands to gain millions of dollars in taxes if licensed adult clubs expand into legal brothels.

Mammoliti says an enhanced licence will be required by the clubs to feature strippers and hookers.

“The adult clubs will be a perfect fit for this activity,” Mammoliti says.

“The clubs are already there and some jurisdictions have given them permission to place brothels on their property.”

He is back-tracking on a red-light district which he previously supported due to a proposal by MGM to create an Las Vegas-style entertainment complex in Toronto.

Mammoliti claims brothels can curb the trafficking of women for the sex trade, clean up the shady massage and sex parlour industry, place health workers in clubs, force pimps out and make it safer for prostitutes and their customers.

“This is a very lucrative business and we can earn a lot of money as a city,” Mammoliti says. “We were the largest pimps in North America because of the amount of massage parlour permits issued.”

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford told reporters Wednesday that the full impact of the loss of accreditation is not immediately clear.

“We don’t how it’s going to affect us and we’ll see,” Ford said.

An AZA spokesperson told CBC News that the zoo will not be able to “fully participate” in its programs as a result of the loss of accreditation.

Spokesperson Steve Feldman also said that the zoo’s loss of accreditation had to do with governance, and not with the way that animals were being looked after in Toronto.

“Animal care, animal welfare, education, research, conservation were not at issue,” Feldman said in a telephone interview from Silver Spring, Md.

Earlier, the AZA said council’s decision “regarding the management of animals in the zoo’s collection” fails to comply with several governing standards.

It was evidently referring to council’s decision to send Toka, Thika and Iringa to the PAWS animal sanctuary near San Andreas, Calif.

Last year, the zoo’s board decided to shut down its African elephant exhibit and staff was asked to find a new AZA-accredited facility for the three females.

In October, when no new home had been found, city council stepped in and voted to send the elephants to the PAWS sanctuary.

On paper, at least, the GTA new housing market still looks hot: There was a 36.1 per cent jump in construction of new multiple-family homes — mainly highrise condos — in the first quarter of 2012 over the same period a year ago, the federal housing agency reported Wednesday.

Just since February, the construction of multiple-family homes — the vast majority of them highrise condos — was up almost 128 per cent, from 20,900 to 47,600 units under construction, it notes.

Single family home construction was actually down slightly, by 1.4 per cent, during the first quarter of 2012 over the same period last year.

But the Toronto condo boom that has made Ontario the leading region for housing starts across all of Canada is now showing signs of softening demand, says Shaun Hildebrand, senior market analyst for the Toronto region.

“The higher net-worth individuals (investors) who have been driving the market to a large extent over the last few years seem to have been slowing their acquisition of new units,” says Hildebrand.

He appeared to catch his leg in the grass while going after a ball during a training game in the rain at BMO Field.

The team said he had surgery Tuesday.

It has seen plenty of video of its mistakes in Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to San Jose, and the 3-1 defeat to Seattle before that. “Easy goals,” is how de Klerk described the errors. But yelling does not always solve the problem.

Nepton hopes to repeat the success of her first Toronto show last October, when she opened several new retail accounts. “The market is stronger here,” she said. Soïa & Kyo’s Ilan Elfassy agrees. “There is better exposure in Toronto and we have a large clientele in Toronto and Canada,” he said.

Last after New York, Milan, Paris, London and Montreal, the five-day, movable event featuring fall 2012 collections was held for a second season at David Pecaut Square, a patch of cobblestones in the city’s entertainment district on King Street West.

With an infusion of cash from new sponsor MasterCard, the week was redubbed World MasterCard Fashion Week and featured a more than 40,000-square-foot tent, the largest single fashion tent in North America, according to Robin Kay, president of the Fashion Design Council of Canada, which hosts the event.

There were no paparazzi moments off the runway this season but some stellar fashion moments on it.

The 1960s was also a prime source of inspiration as several designers put their own modern spin on the definitive style era.

Matis by Lucian Matis: Lucian Matis brought his taste for luxury and attention to eye-popping details from his signature collection to his Matis line. But the infusion of colourful patterned geometric shapes and prints into wardrobe staples were the standouts.

The Toronto-based designer showcased his affordable collection of basics for the career women distinguishable by their multi-coloured patterns fashioned on everything form wrap-front dresses and slim-fit sheaths. The line also featured a range of feminine separates, including ruffle front blouses, wool minis, lace sheaths, slender trousers and colour-blocked dresses.

For those seeking a more glam look for evening, Matis didn’t disappoint with flirty cocktail numbers with beaded bustlines alongside a second-skin creation boasting a plunging neckline and high slit for the more adventurous fashionista.

Lundstrom Collection: With models swathed in shimmering crystals and clutching steadfastly to fur stoles encircling their shoulders, Lundstrom Collection channelled high society glam with its ladylike looks.

For fans of the stylish 60s-era drama “Mad Men,” one couldn’t help but conjure visions of Betty Draper with the bob-sporting catwalkers adorned in luxurious cocoon and pea coats, lush capes and pretty, patterned pencil skirts.

The collection was an homage to the upper crust chic with its expansive range of separates: tie fronts adorning cotton blouses and charmeuse tops; sleek textured skirts in knit and tweed as well as slim-fit ankle pants and flared trousers. A glimmering crystal-encrusted brooch, pin, button and black satin sash — often in combination — accented virtually every look.

Towards the end of the presentation, the direction veered away from menswear-inspired touches to full-on feminine glamour gowns, closing out with a selection of voluminous navy numbers with gathered skirts featuring satin striping and vintage lace.

Soia & Kyo: Soia & Kyo demonstrates that style needn’t fall by the wayside while bundling up in chillier conditions.

The Montreal-based label helmed by designer Ilan Elfassy sought to dial up the chic with its outerwear offerings, and in the process, seeking to distinguish the woollen coats, leather jackets and voluminous parkas that typically colour the style landscape during the cooler months.

Models sporting furry trapper hats and toting bundled blankets and even logs down the runway were the ideal accompaniments to the stylish succession of sleek jackets featured, bathed in a largely neutral palette of camel, sand, khaki, mocha, charcoal grey and black with vibrant pops of mustard and red.

The embellishments on coats were put to subtle yet effective use, from brassy gold-accented buckles and to the fur trim and shearling encircling hoods and lining collars that have become outerwear mainstays. There were a number of dual-contrast looks such as leather elbow patches and slick quilted sleeves on wool coats.

Martin Lim: Martin Lim is sticking to the formula that brought the emerging Montreal-based label to the homegrown fashion forefront last season.

Husband-and-wife designing duo Danielle Martin and Pao Lim were the inaugural winners of the Mercedes-Benz Start Up program for up-and-coming Canadian designers last fall.

The fall-winter collection featured Tuesday showcased strikingly similar elements from their award-winning range unveiled last season.

Constable Wendy Drummond of Toronto Police said that although there is construction in the interior of the building the collapse happened outside.

“We got the call at 10:30 this morning, and confirmed for us that there was a partial collapse. It is more of a ceiling of a walkway to building than a roof,” said Drummond.

The collapse briefly closed a busy intersection; it’s since reopened. However, Drummond said that pedestrians will have limited access to the sidewalk.

Police do not know the cause.

The building is home to the head office of Ontario Power Generation along with parts of Mount Sinai Hospital and, quite ironically, the head office of Intact Insurance – one of Canada’s largest insurance companies.

Gains in energy and mining stocks helped take the S&P/TSX composite index up 77.9 points to 12,701.26 its highest close since early September, 2011, while the TSX Venture Exchange gained 6.32 points to 1,684.95.

The Canadian dollar closed below parity for the first time since the end of January, down 0.38 of a cent to 99.96 cents (U.S.).

U.S. markets were weak amid strong housing data that showed sales of previously occupied homes are at their highest level since May 2010.

The National Association of Realtors said Wednesday that resales increased 4.3 per cent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.57 million. The supply of homes on the market has plunged to 2.3 million, the lowest level since March 2005.

New York’s Dow Jones industrials closed down 27.02 points to 12,938.67. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 15.4 points to 2,933.17 while the S&P 500 index was 4.55 points lower to 1,357.66.

The TSX ran ahead despite a fairly weak Chinese manufacturing survey.

The preliminary reading of HSBC’s China manufacturing index rose from 48.8 in January to 49.7 in February. But the number was still below the 50-level that signifies expansion, raising hopes that China could embark on further more stimulus measures to encourage growth. The TSX gained 165 points Tuesday after China’s central bank moved over the weekend to cut banks’ reserve ratios to loosen up lending.

Other data indicated that the European Union area will likely not be able to avoid slipping into recession.

The eurozone composite purchasing managers index fell to 49.7 during February. The manufacturing PMI rose less than expected to 49, still in contraction territory. The services PMI fell a point to 49.4, against economists expectations for a small increase.

“The world economy is still somewhat fragile, even though we are seeing better economic numbers,” observed Chris Kuflik, investment adviser at ScotiaMcLeod in Montreal.

Despite the economic news, the TSX base metals sector was ahead more than one per cent with April copper shedding earlier losses to close unchanged at $3.83 (U.S.) a pound after surging 13 cents on Tuesday.

Teck Resources was ahead $1.11 to $40.55 and Ivanhoe Mines climbed 29 cents to $16.94.

The gold sector was ahead about two per cent with bullion up $13 to a three-month high of $1,771.30 (U.S.) an ounce. Goldcorp Inc. climbed $1.10 to $49.26 while Barrick Gold Corp. advanced $1.23 to $49.48.

The TSX energy sector was ahead 0.85 per cent as the April crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange added three cents to a nine-month high of $106.28 (U.S.) a barrel.

Oil has jumped from $96 (U.S.) earlier this month amid escalating tension between Western powers and Iran.

“The price of oil right now is mainly due to geopolitical events,” added Kuflik. He and other analysts point to the sharp rise in oil prices as something which could cause problems for the economic recovery.