Toronto Mayor Rob Ford offered no explanation on why he was the only one who stayed seated during a standing ovation at city hall for a group of WorldPride organizers Wednesday morning.
The mayor did not answer questions from reporters in an elevator at city hall about why he chose to remain in his seat.
"Why didn’t you stand up? Why didn’t you stand up, sir?" reporters asked him.
Ford said he was not homophobic.
"You guys have asked me this question for 14 years," he told reporters. "You know the answer... I'm not homophobic."
On Wednesday, as Joe Pennachetti and Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly spoke about the success of WorldPride, footage showed that Ford remained in his seat.
"Toronto did more than talk the talk, we walked the walk," Pennachetti said as he thanked transit officials, police, event organizers and participants.
"Human rights, meaning freedom of expression, freedom to marry, freedom from discrimination was the theme that ran through every event."
A few minutes later, Kelly took the podium in front of council to thank organizers of a mass same-sex wedding at Casa Loma. He then thanked representatives of Pride Toronto, before inviting Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam to the front of the room.
As Wong-Tam walked toward Kelly to be honoured for her role in WorldPride, her colleagues stood up while clapping, and turned toward the back of the room to face her. Through the standing ovation, Ford could be seen sitting down, facing the front of the room.
Wong-Tam later commented on Ford’s behaviour, saying that he "stands alone in a corner pouting by himself."
Ford has been criticized in the past for not appearing at Toronto Pride Week events. Since his election in 2010, Ford has never attended the city's Pride parade, saying that the event coincides with a traditional family cottage trip he takes every year.
For the first time since taking office, Ford attended the Pride flag raising last year, which kicks off the week-long celebration. This year, however, Pride Week fell during Ford's leave of absence, and he was not present at any events.
Ford apologizes to councillor for robocalls
Ford also took some heat during a debate Wednesday about an integrity commissioner's report about robocalls that were made following Coun. Paul Ainslie's vote last fall against a Scarborough subway plan. The report -- which concluded that Ford had violated council's code of conduct -- was debated for hours on Wednesday.
Coun. Doug Ford at one point defended his brother.
"You can't run to 'mother integrity commission' every time someone says something nasty," he said.
But after hours of debate, Ford publicly apologized to Ainslie.
"I apologize. Thank you," he said.
Ainslie accepted the apology, and council voted to receive the integrity commissioner’s report.
With files from CTV Toronto's Natalie Johnson
