Michael Thompson to seek re-election despite sexual assault charges
Toronto city council candidate Michael Thompson told CP24 on Tuesday that he will focus his energy on his re-election campaign despite the sexual assault charges laid against him last week.
Thompson said that his legal team advised him not to speak on the matter, but added that he is “still the Councillor for Scarborough Centre.”
“I have been the Councillor for Scarborough Centre for 19 years. I’ve worked hard for this community and I will continue to do that,” he said.
Thompson was charged with two counts of sexual assault last week, stemming from an alleged incident at a private residence in Muskoka in July of this year.
The complaints were allegedly made by two women, according to Calvin Barry, Thompson’s former lawyer.
Barry stepped away from the case on Saturday, citing close personal ties with Thompson, which he said would prevent him from being objective enough to carry out his duties as a lawyer.
Before resigning, Barry told CTV News Toronto that Thompson plans to plead not guilty and will put up a “vigorous defence.”
Thompson has since hired Jennifer Brevorka, a partner at Henein Hutchison LLP, to represent him.
Thompson, 62, stepped down as one of John Tory’s deputy mayors and chair of Toronto's Economic and Community Development Committee last week.
"I take sexual assault allegations and charges against any individual very seriously," Tory said at the time.
"While the councillor is facing these charges, it would not be appropriate for him to continue serving as a deputy mayor or chair of a standing council committee. He has agreed and will be resigning those positions effective immediately."
Thompson has been involved in municipal politics for nearly three decades and has been a city councillor since 2003.
The charges against him have not been tested in court.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.