Mayor Rob Ford issued an apology Saturday after members of the LGBT community came under attack at his family’s annual public barbecue a day earlier.
During the annual “Ford Fest” event, held Friday at Thomson Memorial Park in Scarborough, a number of members of the LGBT community were verbally and physically harassed, with some members of the Ford Nation crowd yelling at them to go home.
The mayor’s brother apologized for the incident Friday.
Speaking live on CP24 from the Taste of Toronto event Saturday evening, the mayor said he also regrets the incident.
“I apologize too. I didn’t personally see it. I was in the tent, but it’s terrible that things like that happen. I apologize and we have to move on,” Ford told CP24.
Ford also said the event “was the best Ford Fest we’ve ever had” and thanked his supporters for coming out.
Speaking with CP24 at Taste of Toronto, Doug Ford called the incident “unfortunate.”
“I think 99 per cent it went really well. Everyone had a good time,” he said. “I think it’s just unfortunate what happened. Like I said we apologized to the gentleman. I don’t know. It’s tough for him to show up I guess. There was a little bit of taunting on both sides. I just wish it didn’t happen.”
The mayor declined to comment Saturday on the topic of fellow mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson, who appeared at Ford Fest on a white horse and may now face a bylaw infraction charge for the stunt.
“That’s her campaign. I’m concentrating on our campaign,” Ford said.
The mayor, who is running for re-election, has frequently found himself at odds with the city’s gay community. He has consistently refused to attend annual Pride Toronto events, including this year’s WorldPride celebrations. He also came under fire earlier this year for trying to have a rainbow flag removed from city hall after it was raised to show solidarity with gay athletes during the Sochi Olympics.
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