Nearly two weeks after taking a leave of absence from office to address his substance abuse problems, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford was spotted smiling and taking pictures with local residents in Ontario’s cottage country Friday afternoon.
Erine Strength, a worker at Fabricare Cleaning Services in Gravenhurst, Ont., posted a picture of Mayor Ford posing with her and several store employees on her Facebook account on Friday.
She said he seemed happy and had no problem stopping to take pictures with local residents.
“We were a little shocked to see him come in. He brought in a suit for cleaning and was in a basically jovial mood, looked pretty healthy and was enjoying his day,” Strength told CTV News Channel on Friday.
Strength says she has never seen Ford in town before and was surprised to see him, but didn’t ask him why he was visiting the area.
Ford was also spotted at a local strip mall in Bracebridge, Ont., at around 1:30 p.m. Friday afternoon.
Karman Riberio, an employee at Marj’s Homestyle Café, says the mayor was seen entering a local bank and walking around the plaza for at least 40 minutes.
She said Ford stopped to take pictures with local residents, including a group of construction workers.
Local resident Brody Lisle took a picture with Ford and told The Canadian Press that he chatted with the mayor about his stay in rehab.
"He's done two weeks so far and he's got six more weeks left and he's feeling really good about himself, and health-wise, he's lost a few pounds," Lisle said in a phone interview.
"He seemed a lot thinner and he was really happy and cheerful," he added.
Ford took a leave of absence from office in late April, stating that he was entering a rehab facility in order to address alcohol abuse problems after new allegations of substance abuse surfaced in the media.
Ford’s lawyer Dennis Morris told CTV News that despite the photographs, Ford is continuing to seek treatment in rehab.
Morris told CTV’s Katie Simpson that the mayor has the ability to come and go from rehab as he pleases.
“He is an in-patient. I don't think any individual is restricted to a facility 24/7. There are no gates or bars,” Morris told CP24.
He would not confirm Ford’s location.
The Ford family does have a cottage in the Muskoka region, but Rob’s brother Coun. Doug Ford told CP24 that the mayor would not be spending the long weekend there.
Today marks a year since the Toronto Star and the U.S. news site Gawker first reported seeing a video that appeared to show the mayor smoking crack cocaine.
Months later, Ford admitted to trying the drug while in one of his "drunken stupors" and to using drugs while in office.
With files from The Canadian Press
