City
Rob Ford to remain mayor until 2014
It's official, Rob Ford will remain mayor of Toronto until 2014 after a panel of Divisional Court judges decided to overturn an order to remove him from office. The decision means talk of by-elections and appointments from within council can be put to bed for the rest of this term.
In November, Ford was found to have breached the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act when he took part in a debate on item at city council in which he had a pecuniary interest, namely speaking and voting to overturn an order that he pay back $3,150 in improperly solicited donations to his football foundation. A superior court judge had no choice under the law but to declare the mayor's council seat vacant.
Ford's successful appeal of that decision means he will stay mayor until the next round of municipal elections in 2014, however that's unlikely to silence the dissenting voices who were hoping to have the mayor removed from office as a result of the transgression.
Several councillors, including deputy mayor Doug Holyday, had indicated they would seek election or appointment had Ford been given his marching orders as a result of the appeal hearing at Osgoode Hall on Jan. 7. Naturally, the result will have a major effect on the political landscape in Toronto for the foreseeable future.
The verdict declares Justice Hackland's decision "a nullity" but does acknowledge that the $3,150 figure was "not an insignificant amount, even for a person of Mr. Ford's means." The panel agreed with Alan Lenczner, Ford's lawyer, who argued that council overstepped its jurisdiction when it asked the mayor to return the money in the first place.
Various councillors have called for "business as usual" at city hall following the result. Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti, who recently left his position on the mayor's executive committee, said Ford needs "to start acting like a mayor," going forward, adding "the sideshows have to finish. I said to him 'you have to start dressing like a mayor' as well."
Mammoliti also re-iterated his belief that he is at the centre of a clandestine political conspiracy, telling a scrum of reporters "it's been confirmed" his phone has been tapped. Yesterday the York West councillor announced he's hired a private investigator to look into an alleged attempt by former and current city staff to "go after him."
UPDATE: 11:33
Clayton Ruby, the lawyer for Paul Magder, the Toronto resident who brought the case against Ford, says he'll seek leave to appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada, the highest court in the country. That move could leave the door open for this case to continue. Here's the full text of his statement:
The Court has let Rob Ford off on a technicality. We find that disappointing, particularly since the Court found that Mr. Paul Magder was right on the facts.
We believe that there are serious errors of law in the judgment and we will ask the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal to that Court. It must be acknowledged that such appeals are not easy but this remains an important issue for all citizens.
Especially troubling is the finding that if a politician raises money from lobbyists and directs that money to his or her own personal interest, such abuse is beyond the reach of government oversight. This raises the possibility of American-style Political Action Committee (PAC) fundraising, which should be of great concern to all Canadians. (See Decision, paras. 49 and 70.)
No further comments will be made by Mr. Ruby or Mr. Magder.
UPDATE: 12:00
Reading a statement, a subdued Rob Ford called the court case a "very, very humbling experience," thanking his legal team, family, and the residents of Toronto who supported him. "It has been a very, very challenging time for all of us," he said.
"The job is not finished yet, and I plan to spend the next six years getting the job done," he continued. "Moving forward, we'll continue to do the work we were elected to do. We're doing a great job turning the city around."
"Together we will build a Toronto that is, hands down, the best city in the world to live, work, and invest in."
Outside, Doug Ford said there were "handshakes all round" when his brother heard he was keeping his job. When asked about a possible Superior Court of Canada appeal, Doug said the next steps, if there are any, are "strictly up to Clayton Ruby."
Ford will leave city hall at some point later today to meet the kids at Don Bosco Catholic Secondary who Doug Ford says are "all cheering" the result.
UPDATE: 12:43
One lingering question that remains is who pays the court costs. It's possible that, as the loser in the case, Paul Magder could be saddled with Rob Ford's legal costs. In the conclusion of their ruling, judges Then, Leitch, and Swinton said they were willing to make a final decision on who foots the bill if the two parties were unable to agree within 30 days.
Earlier today, George Christopoulos, Rob Ford's press secretary, tweeted this picture with the caption "all smiles..."
Here is the full text of the decision:
Paul Magder v Rob Ford by chris9863
Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.
Photo: Chris Bateman/blogTO
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And on the other...Rob Ford.
Great, now we've got exactly the kind of mayor all those casino execs love: dumb and corrupt. Hope the other councilors are strong enough to resist the lobbying and get a good deal for Toronto, rather than letting MGM or whoever walk all over us and do whatever they want.
Council will now be just one big temper tantrum until the next election.
Now that him and Ford Nation think he's invincible, he's going to get even more uncooperative.
He's still gone as of 2014, no question. The only problem is what kind of further damage he can cause between now and then on:
transit - hopefully not much more. That cow has left the barn.
Gardiner - oh god. An enlightened mayor would tear it down. Ford may be able to keep it, causing literally billions of dollars of damage to the city for decades
casino - probably not a factor in this discussion. Toronto will likely get a downtown casino, not as big of a deal as everyone is making out. (Montreal is still standing, after all)
bike lanes - not really many left to tear out. And Toronto is so far behind the curve now it barely matters anymore. Bixi will hobble on, cyclists will die, but this is probably our future with or without Ford, at least until an intelligent mayor comes along.
So enjoy the soap opera for another two years, and pray that Council can stop Ford on the Gardiner.
I'm so tired of the whole circus at city hall. Frankly, I don't understand how anyone can approve of the job he's done. Even conservatives must be embarrassed by his behviour. Holyday, who is no favourite of mine would be a far better mayor than Ford. Same for Stintz, Del Grande and John Tory. Rob Ford isn't a terrible mayor because he's a conservative, it's because he's Rob Ford.
We loose both ways. Hey government, how about a solution that actually benefits the city you are ruling and its peoples?
Clayton Ruby's comment is exactly right - the court here held that lobbyists giving money to a fund that is 100% controlled by Robert Ford but not actually in Ford's name was not giving money to him. This is...... not consistent with the general practice of the court system, to say the least. And it does open up an angle to bribe councillors and other politicians, legally.
As opposed to the right foaming at the mouth and calling for heads at the initial ruling to boot him from office?
"The Court has let Rob Ford off on a technicality. We find that disappointing."
Really? Wasn't it a "technicality" infraction that you charged Ford on in the first place? Talk about blatant hypocrisy!
"We believe that there are serious errors of law in the judgment and we will ask the Supreme Court of Canada for leave to appeal to that Court."
The only "error in judgement" here was Ruby thinking he could kick the mayor out of office over a technicality.
"Especially troubling is the finding that if a politician raises money from lobbyists and directs that money to his or her own personal interest, such abuse is beyond the reach of government oversight."
The money was for charity and there's nothing against the law about raising money for charity. Unfortunately Rob used the wrong piece of paper. Shoot him.
"This raises the possibility of American-style Political Action Committee (PAC) fundraising, which should be of great concern to all Canadians."
What a ridiculous hyperbole. Ford was raising money for a children's charity, I'm not sure what Ruby means by this.
Shove this decision up your a** Ruby.
Technicality is misfiling the paperwork or a law clerk losing a file, a clerical error or similar. A judge (or panel of) making a reasoned ruling that you don't like is called the LAW.
And before you start with the "whiny socialist elitist" crap, I would have GLADLY voted for John Tory in 2010. The difference between the two men being that while they're both Conservatives, only one of them (Ford) is an idiot.
Or perhaps council being able to achieve things for a while without Ford having to take time to appear in court on one matter or another?
If you want a case that makes Ford's look like, well, a bunch of whiny lefties crying, google "Owusu-Ansah" and "Bridget Takyi".
Is a 7 - 9 million dollar by-election worth it for a cash strapped city? No.
Let Toronto's Clown Prince finish off his term.
Then let's re-elect someone with a brain next year.
http://gizmodo.com/5959101/the-effect-of-education-in-the-presidential-election
And the same pattern holds true in Toronto. The wards which comprise "old Toronto", ie. those that didn't vote for Ford (aka. "the downtown socialist elites),are generally more affluent, with higher levels of educational attainment than "Ford Nation". In fact, the titular head of "Ford Nation" doesn't even have a degree. So I guess the fish really does rot from the head.
http://www.toronto.ca/committees/community_councils.htm
POINT IS in democracy, everyone gets a vote, dumb or smart, rich or poor, successful but uneducated business man like Steve Jobs or unsuccessful but hyper educated dorks like Arun Smith (7th year “human rights and sexuality” major").
As for utility, I cannot imagine how the streets of Toronto would be if the Gardiner was torn down, or was in the process of being torn down. As it is, I refuse to ride my bike or car south of King, between Bathurst and Parliament during the week as its usually a parking lot heading for the highway. The people in those cars will never use transit and do not see it as an option (look at our mayor).
All of our politicians, left and right, are a joke when it comes to traffic and many other major issues in this city. No decision is the best decision for their political future.
Thank you nutjobs for making my evening much more enjoyable.
Hmmm, that'd actually be a good side effect.
The city should be able to borrow a huge chunk of money up front based on the fact that the tolls will be ongoing revenue from the asset... bring the Gardiner up to standard... once we're there money earned by the city should go into keeping it maintained + the rest going directly into transit.