Toronto mayor refuses comment on Bryant

Toronto Mayor David Miller had little to say on Tuesday about the legal predicament facing his new head of Invest Toronto, Michael Bryant.

Bryant, 43, was taken into police custody on Monday night after a 33-year-old cyclist was killed on Bloor Street West.

The former Ontario attorney general was charged on Tuesday with two counts in connection with the death of Darcy Allan Sheppard: criminal negligence causing death and dangerous operation of a motor vehicle causing death.

Police say the incident began with a "minor collision" and then escalated.

On Tuesday morning Miller's office released a brief statement expressing his "sincere condolences to the family and friends of the cyclist who died [Monday] night following an incident in the Yorkville area."

The statement went on to say that since "this is an active police investigation, I will not be making any further comment on this tragedy today."

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty was asked for his reaction at a Queen's Park news conference.

"It's just very sad, very tragic, how events that unfold inside a minute can have such a profound impact on people's lives, negative impact," McGuinty told reporters.

In May, Bryant shocked the provincial political establishment by stepping down as economic development minister in the Liberal government to take the job as president and CEO of Invest Toronto.

The move was criticized by some at Queen's Park who said he was jumping ship while his ministry was intimately involved in determining the fate of Ontario's auto industry. Bryant had been front and centre in the negotiations to help bail out troubled automakers.

At the time, he said he couldn't resist the opportunity to become the economic czar for the country's largest city.

Bryant took up his new duties in June.