Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said Thursday the province may consider intervening in the scandal surrounding Toronto Mayor Rob Ford if city council makes the request, leaving it up to councillors to decide how to proceed with efforts to strip the mayor of his powers.
Council will vote Friday on motions that seek to remove Ford’s powers to appoint and fire members of the executive, as well as make overriding decisions in emergency situations.
Council has already voted in favour of asking the mayor to step aside in light of his admission that he’s smoked crack cocaine. But Ford has repeatedly said that he’s not going anywhere.
Thursday was the first time Wynne hinted at any involvement by the province in the scandal that has dominated business at Toronto city hall. The Liberal premier’s comments came a day after new allegations against the mayor came to light, including drunk driving and sniffing cocaine.
None of the allegations have been proven in court, but Ford admitted Thursday that he “might have had some drinks and driven, which is absolutely wrong.”
Earlier in the day, Ford stunned reporters when he used lewd language on live television while denying the new allegations outlined in court documents. Ford later apologized.
Wynne said that if Toronto city council were to indicate that it lacked the ability to function because of the ongoing scandal, the province would respond to a request to provide “new tools, depending on what that request may be.
“Events continue to move quickly and the things that we are hearing and seeing about mayor Rob ford are truly disturbing,” Wynne said.
Wynne didn’t specify what exactly the province could do if council asked it to step in. She did say if any action were to happen, “because of the extraordinary and unique nature of any intervention from the province, I would consult with the other party leaders to see if the legislature could move unanimously if required.
“The last thing that this terrible situation needs is an overlay of partisan politics,” she said.
Coun. Paula Fletcher said she wasn’t sure where she stood on the possibility of Wynne’s involvement.
“The last time the province stepped in Toronto was to create the megacity under amalgamation so nothing great has come with giving powers away to the provincial government,” she told CTV News Channel.
Fletcher said that Friday’s council meeting is “very important” and that council should use “the full extent” of its powers in dealing with the mayor.
“We do have an unprecedented situation. I think we are in a crisis situation,” Fletcher said.
She also said that she was “quite shattered” by the mayor’s crude language referencing oral sex.
“There has never, I think, in the history of our country, been a mayor that has used such vile and vulgar language. That’s so demeaning to women, so demeaning to his office, so demeaning to his family.”
Wynne spoke directly to the residents of Toronto Thursday, reminding them that their city is more than the drama that has continued to dominate headlines.
“Toronto is a great city in an amazing province. We have a proud history and a great future. Toronto is more than one politician. It’s more than one government,” she said. “I understand people are affected by what’s happening at this moment, but I want the people of Toronto to know we will not be defined by this and we will work together to ensure the peoples’ interests are served.”
With files from Daniel Bitonti
