Denzil Minnan-Wong asks the province to remove Ford

Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong wants the province to step in and remove Mayor Rob Ford if he refuses to leave office voluntarily.

In the hours after Ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine, Minnan-Wong, previously a Ford ally and member of his executive committee, drafted a motion asking the mayor to step aside. Council lacks the power to send Ford packing unless he has been convicted of a crime.

Now that Ford has announced he plans to remain in office, Minnan-Wong is upping the ante by calling on the province to boot Ford if he doesn't take a leave of absence.

"If he won't find the exit, I think we have to show him the door," he told reporters. "Extraordinary measures are needed in extraordinary times."

Last week Premier Kathleen Wynne said she was concerned by Ford's actions but it appears the provincial government also lacks the power to remove a mayor unless he or she has been convicted, according to Ontario Municipal Affairs Minister Linda Jeffrey.

"There's nothing that we can do at this point," Jeffrey said. "The province has no power to remove anybody."

Will these measures work? Will removing Ford make him a martyr and give him more strength at the next election?

Chris Bateman is a staff writer at blogTO. Follow him on Twitter at @chrisbateman.

Image: Chris Bateman/blogTO