Rob Ford apologizes, calls for video to be released

Rob Ford is calling on police chief Bill Blair to immediately release the video that allegedly shows him smoking crack cocaine and making homophobic remarks.

"That is the right thing to do ... whatever this video shows, folks, Toronto residents deserve to see it and people need to judge for themselves what they see on this video," he said at the start of his weekly NewsTalk 1010 radio show.

Ford did not directly address allegations of drug use and would only say that he had "made mistakes."

"All I can do right now is apologize for the mistakes. I sincerely apologize to my family, to the citizens and taxpayers of this great city, and to my colleagues on city council. Unfortunately I cannot change the past. I can just move forward and learn from the past, which I assure you I am doing."

Ford promised he would make changes in his life, including getting a driver and not drinking in public. "I shouldn't have got hammered down at the Danforth. If you're going to have a couple of drinks you stay at home, you don't make a spectacle of yourself."

He said St. Patrick's Day 2012 "got a little out of control" and urged reporters to stay away from his home, calling the episode "embarrassing."

Callers to the show were unanimously supportive of Ford's work at city hall but some offered criticism of Ford's behaviour. One, 81-year-old Catherine, urged Rob to take a medical leave and called Doug an enabler, which he strongly denied.

"I'm going to weather the storm, we're going to get through it, and my name will be on that ballot January 2nd," Ford said. "I'm going to fight like no-one has ever seen before to win this next election. I ask people to judge me on my record."

Are you satisfied with Ford's apology? Should he step aside until the court proceedings have concluded?

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