City council has voted in favour of a largely symbolic motion calling on Mayor Rob Ford to take a leave of absence amid a growing scandal over his use of crack cocaine.
Following a heated debate on Wednesday, council voted 37-5 in favour of the motion, which had been tabled by former Ford-ally Denzil Minnan-Wong.
City council does not have the legal authority to remove Ford from office and minutes before the vote Ford told councillors that he has no intention to step aside.
"You can only say sorry so many times. There is nothing else to say. I really F'ed up,” Ford said. “If you want to carry this on I can't stop you. I am moving on and you guys can do what you want."
Earlier on Wednesday, council voted 25-19 against an amendment that would have sent the motion to the office of the integrity commissioner.
Speaking with CP24 following the vote, Coun. Shelley Carroll said she was pleased to see such widespread support for sending an immediate message to the mayor and the city as a whole.
“By and large council has made a statement today that we do not condone this behaviour,” she said. “A new day really has dawned.”
Ford says he has bought illicit drugs in past two years
Earlier on Wednesday, Ford admitted to buying illicit drugs within the last two years as council members threw questions at him in an unprecedented grilling about his drug use and drinking habits.
Ford made the stunning admission in response to a question from one-time ally Coun. Denzil Minnan-Wong during a debate over the councillor's motion urging the mayor to take a leave of absence.
"Yes, I have," Ford said as he admitted to buying drugs.
While he was questioned by councillors, Ford said he is not addicted to drugs or alcohol and he will not resign or step down.
A vote on Minnan-Wong's motion may not take place. Coun. Gord Perks moved to refer the matter to the integrity commissioner, ask that she investigate whether Ford violated the city's code of conduct, and report back by April 2014 with any recommendations for appropriate penalties or sanctions.
Ford's latest drug admission followed a heated exchange he had with Minnan-Wong, who accused the mayor of physical intimidation during Wednesday's city council meeting, which coincided with a large anti-Ford demonstration in Nathan Phillips Square.
After Minnan-Wong and Ford stood face-to-face on the floor of council's chamber, Minnan-Wong returned to his seat, stood up and told Speaker Frances Nunziata the mayor blocked his path to his chair and "ordered" him to sit down.
"He stood in my way and blocked my path in a threatening way, in a way that I have never experienced in my time on council," Minnan-Wong said.
Minnan-Wong asked Nunziata to ask Ford to apologize, but she ordered a five-minute recess to calm things down amid jeers from council members and people in the packed gallery.
When the meeting resumed, Ford denied threatening Minnan-Wong, saying he politely asked Minnan-Wong to take his seat while the councillor stood at the city clerk's desk because councillors were asking questions of city staff.
"I did not threaten him in any way, shape or form," Ford said. "I said, 'Councillor, please take your seat.'"
Ford refused to apologize and the debate eventually continued after the mayor began to say sorry for something else and Nunziata cut him off.
Later, the mayor's brother, Coun. Doug Ford, jumped to his defence by accusing council members of having a "holier than thou" attitude and asking Minnan-Wong if he has ever smoked marijuana. Minnan-Wong did not respond.
Ford questioned about alleged crack house
In a testy exchange with Coun. Michael Thompson, Rob Ford acknowledged he has embarrassed the city and he apologized for “mistakes” that he didn’t specify.
When Thompson questioned Ford about visiting a Windsor Road house that has been described by police as a crack house, the mayor denied the crack house claim and defended the home's occupants.
“Have you been in that house?” Ford asked Thompson.
“I have no interest in being in that house. I’m not a crack user,” Thompson replied.
Ford and alleged gang members, including homicide victim Anthony Smith, were photographed in front of the house. Ford told council the picture was a "one-off" and he had never met the men before that encounter.
"I'm not part of gangbangers," Ford said.
Responding to a question from Coun. David Shiner, Ford, who previously said he has nothing left to hide, could not give a guarantee that everything has come out.
“There might be a coat hanger left in my closet. I don’t know what’s left,” Ford said.
The mayor dodged a question about whether he is receiving professional help for any personal issues.
“I don’t know what more I can say,” he said.
Ford has admitted to being drunk at Taste of the Danforth last summer, but at Wednesday’s meeting he denied drinking and driving that night and he said no drugs were involved.
He also denied any claims that he assaulted one of his employees in the past.
Ford accused of double standard
Coun. Raymond Cho accused Ford of a double standard for calling on a city employee to be fired for allegedly sleeping on the job and then refusing to resign or step aside while he faces the scandal.
Several heated exchanges occurred as Ford endures one of the most challenging council sessions of his political career. This is the first meeting since Ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine and being in a “drunken stupor” on multiple occasions, and the first one since police confirmed the existence of a video that allegedly shows the mayor smoking from a glass pipe.
Minnan-Wong's motion does not ask the province to remove Ford if he does not take a leave of absence. The councillor said he omitted that condition because the province is not prepared to take that measure. Council does not have the legal authority to remove one of its own members.
Before the meeting, Minnan-Wong said his motion is a chance for council to "make a statement" and send a message to Torontonians that “what we think the mayor is doing is wrong.”
He dismissed claims that council is ganging up on the mayor.
"That's absolutely not true. We need to take a stand for the people of the city of Toronto," Minnan-Wong said.
He told CP24 on Tuesday that he is "seriously considering" running for mayor in 2014.
Council accepts petition urging mayor to take a leave
Before Minnan-Wong's motion was discussed, council voted 41-2 to accept a petition from Coun. Jaye Robinson that urges Ford to take a leave of absence.
The mayor and Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti voted against accepting the petition signed by 30 of 44 council members. Coun. Doug Ford, the mayor's brother, voted in favour of receiving the petition.
Councillors stood as Robinson announced the names of those who signed the petition.
Mammoliti said he will vote against any Ford-related motions because he doesn't think the controversy is any of council's business. He called the debate a waste of taxpayers' money.
“I think it’s 44 people trying to get involved with something that really has nothing to do with us,” Mammoliti told reporters before the meeting.
Most people recognize the mayor has demons that he needs to deal with but it should be up to him to decide how to address them, Mammoliti said.
“You can’t force him to do certain things,” the councillor said.
Later, Mammoliti told council he wants Ford to enter a 28-day treatment program because the mayor risks isolating himself from council and Torontonians if he doesn't.
Deputy mayor calls for focused, quick debate
Deputy mayor Norm Kelly, who supports calls for Ford to take a break, said he wanted the debate to be reasonable, responsible, focused and quick. It turned out to be anything but.
“There’s an anticipation of a rumble in the jungle but I’m hoping things go through relatively quickly and quietly,” Kelly told reporters before the meeting. “The sooner we get through this the sooner we get back to the business of the City of Toronto.”
In addition to a leave of absence, Minnan-Wong's motion calls on Ford to apologize in council chambers over an earlier denial of crack cocaine use and co-operate with a police investigation into the video. Ford has not given a statement to police about the video, which is evidence in at least one court case and has not been seen by the public.
Meanwhile, council still has to consider a separate motion, sponsored by Coun. John Filion, to strip the defiant mayor of some of his powers.
The 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.
Councillors will debate that motion during a special meeting Friday morning.
With files from CP24 reporter Katie Simpson.
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