Frail mayor returns to City Council, walks with cane

At 6 p.m. tonight, Mayor John Rowswell returned to the City Council chambers.

One month ago, the City announced that Rowswell would be away for medical treatment, with Ward 3 Councillor Bryan Hayes appointed as acting mayor.

At that point, no timeframe was given for the mayor's return.

Tonight's meeting started at 4:30 p.m., chaired by Hayes.

Rowswell entered the chambers without fanfare at 6 p.m. and is currently sitting in Hayes' seat.

This photo was taken by SooToday.com's Carol Martin immediately after Rowswell's arrival tonight.

It captures the expression he has exhibited for most of the time since then.

The mayor participated in a discussion of infrastructure initiatives.

At first, his voice was noticeably weaker than usual.

As the debate continued, he seemed to recover some of his usual vigour.

Rowswell left the council chambers after the infrastructure discussion and left the building just before 8 p.m., indicating he needed to go home to bed.

As the following video shows, the mayor used a cane during his departure tonight.

In January, Rowswell revealed that he won't seek re-election when his current term is up in 2010.

In February, he confirmed to SooToday.com that he will definitely seek the Conservative Party's nomination to run in the next federal election.

Rowswell has had a number of bouts with cancer in recent years.