Mayor Rob Ford is unlikely to seek an injunction to block Monday’s city council meeting, despite reports saying he would try to stop the meeting to block any attempts to further limit his powers.
“I don’t think it would be practically possible to do all of that,” Ford’s lawyer, George Rust-D'Eye, told CP24 Sunday evening.
Noting that it would take time to prepare affidavits and arguments, Rust-D'Eye said he currently has no directive from Ford to seek an injunction against Monday’s meeting.
“I have no instructions to do that,” Rust-D'Eye said.
He said he’s fielded calls from a number of media outlets over the last day or two about a possible injunction, but said he had no idea where the idea came from.
“I’m not quite sure what the words of an injunction would read,” Rust-D'Eye said. “I don’t think the court would prevent the council form addressing issues relating to budgeting or staff or things like that. I think the court would have to accept first of all that it was a matter of urgency and second of all that irreparable harm would be done if the notice of motion proceeded.”
Some outlets reported Saturday that Ford would seek an injunction against Monday’s meeting, where there will be a motion on the table to reduce his budget and slash his powers.
Asked about the strategy as he arrived at Sun News Network to film a new television show Sunday, Ford would only say that he has spoken to his lawyers and is “feeling great” ahead of Monday’s meeting.
"Just talk to my lawyers," he said. "Just talk to my lawyers."
At Monday’s meeting, council is expected to debate a motion to transfer Ford’s council-delegated mayoral powers to Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly and make Kelly chair of the executive committee instead of Ford.
If the motion passes, Ford would be prevented from sitting on city hall committees and council would scale back his office’s budget to that of a councillor's budget and transfer the remaining sum to the city clerk’s office.
Rust-D'Eye said a challenge to council’s actions limiting the mayor’s power would likely focus on whether those actions limit the mayor’s ability to perform his functions as mayor.
“The question I would ask is taken as a whole, does the actions of council impermissibly trespass on the mayor’s functions,” Rust-D'Eye said. “This all appears to arise not out of the performance of the mayor at council, but out of personal activities that he does outside the council chamber. It doesn’t seem to me to deal with the merits of proper staffing and budgeting.”
Monday’s motion comes in the wake of council voting overwhelmingly in favour of taking away Ford’s ability to appoint and dismiss deputy mayor Norm Kelly and standing committee chairs on Friday. During that meeting, council also voted to transfer the mayor's powers in an emergency situation to Kelly.
Ford and his councillor brother Doug were the only members of council to vote against the motion.
“I don’t care. They are going to do whatever they are going to do,” Coun. Doug Ford said when asked about the motions on Sunday. “They are going to trample on everyone’s democracy; they are going to tick off 383, 504 people and they are going to resonate Ford Nation like they have never seen before.”
In an interview that aired on Fox News Sunday afternoon, Ford told the U.S. network he’s already dealing with his problems.
“I’ve admitted to using illegal drugs in the last year. Okay. I’ve admitted to drinking too much. Okay. I’m dealing with it. I’m training every day, I’m in a gym for two hours every day,” Ford said. “I’m seeking professional help, I’m not an alcoholic, I am not a drug addict. Have I had my outbursts in the past? Absolutely I have.”
Ford appears at Argos game in jersey
Around the same time Ford’s interview with Fox aired Sunday, the mayor caused a stir when he appeared at the Toronto Argonauts’ game against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats at the Rogers Centre.
Showing up about half way through the game, Ford sat in a section mainly populated by Ticat fans, hoisting a fake grey cup in the air and appearing to enjoy himself.
Wearing what appeared to be the same team jersey he wore Thursday when he made lewd comments to reporters about oral sex, Ford posed for pictures and signed autographs.
Following his comments Thursday -- which aired on live television and quickly went viral around the world -- the Argos released a statement distancing themselves from Ford, calling the situation around the mayor “unseemly at best.”
The team’s CEO Chris Rudge later said Ford was not invited to the game, but could buy a ticket and attend like any other fan.
Ford later apologized for his comments, saying he had used “unforgiveable language.”
No special mention of his presence was made to the audience at the game Sunday.
Ford received a mixed reception from fellow spectators, with some holding signs declaring Hamilton to have a better mayor and one person even tossing a beer in Ford’s direction.
When it was over, Ford left the stadium surrounded by a security team. Crowds swarmed him, taking pictures and cheering as he got in his vehicle, with some chanting his name as he sped away.
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