A Toronto city councillor who once had a solid alliance with Rob Ford is leading a push to try to remove the mayor from power if he doesn’t seek a leave of absence amid a growing crack cocaine scandal.
The latest sign of council’s growing frustration over Ford’s refusal to step aside came Thursday with Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong’s announcement that he is amending his motion urging the mayor to take a leave to address his personal issues.
In an extremely rare move, Minnan-Wong revealed he is adding a condition asking council to petition the province to remove Ford from office if he does not voluntarily step aside.
“We have told him that he needs to find the exit, he doesn’t seem to be listening,” Minnan-Wong told reporters at city hall. “If he won’t find the exit, I think we have to show him the door.
“I think that would be the best that we could do, the strongest measures that we could take,” the councillor added. “I, for one, believe he should take leave of absence. This situation is deteriorating. It’s not going away, it’s getting worse and council needs to act on this.”
Minnan-Wong’s attempt to place more pressure on a defiant Ford may be futile, however, because so far the province has shown an unwillingness to get involved.
Last week, Ontario Municipal Affairs Minister Linda Jeffrey said the province doesn’t have the power to remove Ford unless he was convicted of a crime. Ford has not been charged with anything.
On Thursday, Wynne said council has “tools at its disposal” to deal with the matter and she repeated her position that the Toronto police investigation and the judicial process must take their course in light of Ford's admission that he smoked crack cocaine.
Minnan-Wong, who is urging fellow councillors to support his motion, said he has not discussed the motion with Ford, Premier Kathleen Wynne or anyone at the provincial level.
Minnan-Wong dodged a question about the motion’s chances of convincing the province to get involved and he didn’t seem to be worried about the possibility of creating a precedent.
In an unprecedented situation that is putting the city and its reputation at risk, “extraordinary measures are needed in extraordinary times," Minnan-Wong said.
The councillor said he has no confidence the situation is going to improve and he plans to include the amended motion on the agenda when city council meets Wednesday.
Deputy mayor doesn't support motion
Deputy mayor Norm Kelly has called for Ford to take a leave of absence but he doesn’t support Minnan-Wong’s motion because he fears it would set a dangerous precedent that would allow the province to intervene if there are "difficulties" with future mayors.
“We are a mature order of government and it’s up to us to find a way out of the mess we’re in right now,” Kelly told CP24 reporter Kate Simpson. “I’ll be damned if I’ll go to the provincial government and invite them in to settle our problems when we have the ability to do it ourselves.”
Minnan-Wong hopes to have the support of the mayor’s brother, Coun. Doug Ford.
“I think Doug Ford should try and help the mayor and he should encourage the mayor and not be an enabler of the mayor, and he should do the best he can to help the city and help his brother,” he said.
Minnan-Wong is chair of the public works committee and he sits on Rob Ford’s hand-picked executive committee, but his hardened stance on the mayor’s troubles is the latest signal of a breakdown between the two.
“My relationship with the mayor’s office has been frosty. I would describe it as frosty,” Minnan-Wong said. “I suspect that it’s probably going to get a little bit cooler and a lot more colder, so we’ll have to see what happens.”
Council is also poised to consider a separate motion that would strip Ford of some of his powers.
Coun. John Filion’s motion would prevent Ford from dismissing his deputy mayor or standing committee chairs, who are members of his executive committee, for the remainder of the current term.
The motion is on next week’s agenda but it is not being debated until the following meeting in mid-December.
City of Toronto not in crisis, city manager says
In a memo to staff, city manager Joe Pennachetti attempted to ease any concerns that public employees may have about Ford’s situation.
“The situation that is unfolding is unfortunate. It has also resulted in some media reports that the City of Toronto is in crisis. This is not the case,” Pennachetti said in the letter. “I understand that these issues have created some distraction; however, I also know that these issues are neither about the Toronto Public Service nor a reflection of the hard work and commitment that City staff consistently display on a daily basis, and for some of you, 24/7.”
Pennachetti told city employees the best way to move forward is to continue to work hard and deliver “high quality” customer service.
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