mom, and i think sister, are on cp24 covering for Rob - uh, i mean, defending Rob. talking about nobody's forgiving him, and the media are on his back. the sister looks rough. they are delusional, and they are not helping Rob. Christ. in fact, the sister right now is trying to define alcoholism, mi sure this aggo hit twitter hard.
holee crap. the mother and the sister....i can see now how rob ford is the way he is. it's clear that doug is the favoured brother. check out #topoli for some of the comments they are making.
Angelo Dias @rxdealer2m
Rob Ford's mother just called him fat on TV. There's the tough love that made Robbie into such a lovable guy #TOpoli
Erin Filby @leeluubee1m
Rob's mum says that his being chubby is the real problem? Losing weight is what will make him a better mayor? I... what? Holy ****. #TOpoli
Rob Ford's beloved brother is being interviewed at this moment and he is still playing the part of enabler, saying things like the Mayor needs to just go on vacation for a couple weeks and he will come back ready to serve again.
This is tought to listen to!
What about the alledged racist remarks that the mayor made on one of the videos that are yet to be released? In a city with so many citizens who have come from all corners of the globe, how is that going to play out?
I just wish there was a mechanism in place to remove elected officials such as this piece of crap mayor in Toronto.
Rob Ford's beloved brother is being interviewed at this moment and he is still playing the part of enabler, saying things like the Mayor needs to just go on vacation for a couple weeks and he will come back ready to serve again.
This is tought to listen to!
What about the alledged racist remarks that the mayor made on one of the videos that are yet to be released? In a city with so many citizens who have come from all corners of the globe, how is that going to play out?
I just wish there was a mechanism in place to remove elected officials such as this piece of crap mayor in Toronto.
Milo, you don't see the strategy? Robbie can't leave, because then Douggie's fortunes at City Council will diminish, and affect his long game to leap into provincial politics. Unu don't believe that the family is NOT behind Rob at all, but behind DOUG. Doug is the one to carry on Papa Ford's legacy.
That subtext was so evident in that horrible interview with Mom and Sister last night. Mommy is basically saying to Rob, her baby son, fix yourself, lose some weight, stop stumbling around, get an alcohol detector for your car, whatever you do, don't quit. She even laughed after him at one point. Meanwhile, Sister Kath, who was shot in the face by her former hubby and is a recovering addict herself, told the world how angry Douggie was at all this, and how she told Douggie to "chill out".
if Robbie were to leave the mayoral seat, that opens the door for someone to really position themselves as the alternate mayor, and become a credible rival at election time. Doug is new again to Toronto (spent a lot of time in Chicago running the family business), so needs Robbie's mayoral platform to serve his own political interest.
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has accomplished what no Canadian prime minister — or any Canadian for that matter — has ever achieved.
After a video showing him smoking crack was obtained by Toronto police, he’s made front pages around the world, become a Twitter sensation and been featured by Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel in the same evening. The last time a Canadian politician attained any name recognition outside Canada was in 1970, when Pierre Trudeau dated Barbra Streisand.
“Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine,” Ford told reporters Tuesday. “But no, do I, am I an addict? No. Have I tried it? . . . Probably in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately about a year ago.” He blamed alcohol — a claim bolstered by an “impaired rant” posted online Thursday by the Toronto Star. He blamed the press for not asking the correct questions. Then he refused to resign, and his popularity rose to 44 percent, according to a recent poll by Forum Research.
I suspect that more Americans now know the name of Toronto’s mayor than know the name of Canada’s prime minister. (It’s Stephen Harper. Just FYI.)
That’s because Ford’s an exception — an American-style political train wreck. Americans perceive Canada as the place next door that exports logs, hockey players and cold fronts. It’s frustrating but understandable. Why pay attention to the polite neighbor who never complains and always uses headphones?
Canadians, like Americans living in Omaha or Rochester or Montpelier, accept that they rarely get to bask in the limelight.
But when you’re no longer being treated like a pliant kid brother, it’s welcome. That’s why, after Ford’s admission, triumphalist pro-Canadian tweets followed. “Rob Ford goes global!” read one. Another gushed: “And people say Canada never makes the news in the U.S.”
The fact is that, most days, Canadians just don’t feel the love. A Pew Research Center poll of 39 countries published this summer showed that Canadian respondents, by 2 to 1, said the United States doesn’t consider Canada’s interests. The poll also found that respondents in France, Poland, Britain, Italy and Germany felt Washington cared slightly more about them.
Attempts to generate recognition are humiliating: the Canadian government’s ads in D.C.’s Metro and in U.S. newspapers designed to sell Americans on Keystone XL because the oil sands are in a friendly jurisdiction called Alberta that is really close by. Then there were the War of 1812 ads we produced earlier this year to boost Canadian pride in a conflict that nobody cares much about.
Ford is box office boffo because he upends American stereotypes about Canadians and, for what it’s worth, Canada’s self-image.
Canadians are cleaner, nicer and slimmer than their southern neighbors. They watch hockey, recycle and never do drugs. They are polite and apologize if they bump into machinery. Even their postgame celebrations are tame, rarely turning into riots. When fans in Vancouver did riot in June 2011 after the Canucks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals to the Boston Bruins, the image that went ’round the world was of a couple kissing in the street.
In Canada, scary becomes cuddly.
Gawker, which broke the Ford video story in May, exploited this stereotype viciously: “Rob Ford looks like the kind of red-faced American trash who would knock down an old lady in the WalMart pharmacy line just to get his brother’s oxycontin prescription five minutes faster,” national correspondent Ken Layne wrote. A self-proclaimed Canadian waded in apologetically and posted this comment on Gawker’s site: “We’re 100% as fat as Americans. Believe me. Our false sense of superiority over Americans is baseless. We’re just as bad as you are. So don’t feel bad.”
Frankly, I relish the notoriety. Ford has worked over the national brand, but he’s made Canada interesting. As an arch BBC anchor said gleefully: “Finally, something has actually happened in Toronto. But how do Torontonians feel being made famous on the back of the mayor smoking crack cocaine?”
Mister Brit, it feels okay. After all, everyone knows that any publicity is good publicity, eh?
Rob Ford's staffers told Toronto Police shocking details about booze, drugs and even a suspected prostitute in the mayor's City Hall office, according to censored d…
TORONTO - Rob Ford’s staffers told Toronto Police shocking details about booze, drugs and even a suspected prostitute in the mayor’s City Hall office, according to a media lawyer who has seen the redacted sections that have been ordered unsealed.
The bombshell information is contained in police interviews that will be released to the public after Justice Ian Nordheimer ruled Wednesday that some blacked-out portions of the information to obtain a search warrant into the affairs of Ford’s friend Alexander Lisi can be made available.
Among the redacted information to be released are interviews with former Ford staffers Mark Towhey, David Price and George Christopoulos, according to media lawyer Iain MacKinnon.
According to the documents, MacKinnon said, two staffers expressed concern to Christopoulos about Ford’s use of alcohol, including drinking and driving. Mayor’s staff said they figured Ford had an issue with alcohol and/or prescription drugs and needed to straighten himself out, the documents say. Towhey was fired because he tried to give Ford advice that the mayor didn’t want to hear: He’s in denial. Christopoulos said he resigned because Ford is incapable of taking direction and doesn’t trust anyone.
Some of the most startling allegations concern the night of March 17, 2012.
Former special assistant of communications Isaac Ransom told police, according to MacKinnon, that he was summoned to City Hall about 9 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day in 2012 and found Ford there with a few people including a woman he believed may be an escort. He said Ford had drank half of a 40 oz bottle of vodka and was talking about getting hammered and getting laid that night.
His staff tried unsuccessfully to convince him not to go to Bier Markt, according to Ransom. He said he did manage to stop Ford from smoking pot in his office before he left. He said he’s never seen him do cocaine.
MacKinnon said that according to the documents, a waiter at the Bier Markt told investigators that he believed Ford had snorted cocaine in a private room that night.
The waiter said he saw Ford and a woman with their heads down, trying to hide what they were doing, and then heard “two sniffs,” according to the documents. He was told by a Ford staffer not to tell anyone what he had seen - which he said confirmed for him that he had seen the mayor do coke.
According to the documents, there were four or five people in the private room including some women who didn’t appear to be staffers.
About an hour and a half later, the waiter heard that Ford went to the dance floor and pushed people out of the way. The waiter said he later got in trouble from management for telling people Ford did cocaine in the private room of the bar.
But the Bier Markt manager told police he didn’t see Ford doing drugs that night and the mayor was not kicked out of the bar as some media later reported. A bartender told police he saw the mayor very intoxicated and witnessed him charging the dance floor. He was told by the waiter that Ford had done cocaine that night and the DJ had photos of the mayor “really f---ed up.”
When he got back to City Hall following his intoxicated evening at the bar, Ransom said Ford pushed staffers Brooks Barnett and Earl Provost because he was agitated they were telling him to go home.
MacKinnon said that Towhey told police Ford was very drunk on that St. Paddy’s Day at the Bier Markt and he was told by Provost that he saw Ford take OxyContin. Towhey was told Ford got into a physical altercation with two staffers back at his City Hall office that night.
Provost took him home in a taxi and when they got there, Ford then got into his car and drove off.
According to the documents seen by the media lawyer, Towhey told police he believes Ford is an alcoholic and was told Ford once bought a mickey of alcohol and then got behind the wheel, according to the documents. He said staff often buy Ford booze. He also said the mayor was incoherent and intoxicated by something on the night of the Garrison Ball but Ford angrily refused Towhey’s advice not to attend.
Ford’s staff told police that some women came to the mayor’s office saying Ford had told them they could have a job after they smoked joints with him outside of bars, MacKinnon says.
Staffer Chris Fickel told police, according to MacKinnon, that Payman Aboodowleh, who helped coach the Don Bosco football team, explained in December 2012 that he had stopped talking to Ford because he was worried the mayor was doing a lot of cocaine.
Fickel told police he believes Ford is an alcoholic and saw him drinking a mickey of vodka, chased down by Gatorade, while he drove them home once from a Don Bosco football game. Fickel said he demanded that he be let out of his car and took a bus.
While acknowledging that some of the redacted information may bring “possible harm to innocent persons,” Nordheimer said that is trumped by the public’s right to know. He noted that much of the redacted sections refer to police interviews with “persons connected to the mayor.”
But Nordheimer made an exception and will continue to seal references in the ITO to events involving the mayor’s wife “who apparently had some personal issues during the course of the time covered by the ITO.”
“I do not see any reason at this stage why her personal circumstances need to be made public,” he wrote in his decision.
Dates of birth, licence plate numbers and telephone numbers will also be blacked out as well as any portions that directly related to Lisi’s fair trial rights.
Parade co-chair has sent a letter to the mayor's staff, asking to avoid the distraction of having Rob Ford march “and put the focus back on Santa and Mrs. Claus.”
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The co-chairman of the Santa Claus Parade is urging Mayor Rob Ford to “reconsider” his decision to march in the annual event.
“Our request is simple, we know the Mayor loves the Parade, but for this year let’s avoid this distraction and put the focus back on Santa and Mrs. Claus,” Ron Barbaro wrote in the letter to the mayor’s chief of staff, Earl Provost.
Barbaro told the Star the parade board is “concerned about the safety” of the children and other spectators in light of the “chaotic” attention the mayor has received — from media and protesters — since he admitted last week to smoking crack cocaine while in office.
“We were more afraid on the part of the children,” Barbaro said. “He has to go through a scrum to get to his car. He can’t even go out of his office.”
But Barbaro said the request has “nothing to do with” the mayor’s admitted substance abuse and the ongoing police investigation into his activities.
“That’s what’s caused the problem, but we’re not judges of that whatsoever,” he said. “We just know that Santa’s the hero. Let’s let it be that way.”
There has been confusion about Ford’s involvement in this weekend’s Santa Claus Parade since Monday, when Barbaro said he was told by Provost that the mayor would not be marching. However, Ford’s spokesman, Amin Massoudi, said the mayor would in fact be “participating.”
But Barbaro makes clear the parade board’s “official position” in his letter.
“With the media following the Mayor in everything he does, we do not want this distraction to take away from the anticipated fun and enjoyment that children will have on Parade Day,” Barbaro wrote.
Initially, Barbaro said he was told Ford would not be marching “due to recent events in the mayor’s life, but would be a spectator watching the parade with his family.”
He said he was surprised when the mayor announced on Monday night that he had “changed his mind and will now walk ahead of the Parade.”
“We are appealing to the Mayor, as a parent to reconsider this decision. We are asking him to go back to the original decision,” Barbaro wrote. “The Santa Claus Parade is presented for children and families and the single focus is the magic of Santa and Mrs. Claus arriving to usher in the Holiday Season.”
The mayor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ford has marched in the parade, which draws hundreds of thousands of spectators, as mayor for the past two years, and in 2010 as mayor-elect. The parade kicks off at 12:30 p.m. this Sunday.
Barbaro reiterated on Wednesday that the mayor has not been “uninvited” to the parade.
“He can march in the parade,” Barbaro said. “We’re just asking.”
Parade co-chair has sent a letter to the mayor's staff, asking to avoid the distraction of having Rob Ford march “and put the focus back on Santa and Mrs. Claus.”
VIEW 2 PHOTOS
The co-chairman of the Santa Claus Parade is urging Mayor Rob Ford to “reconsider” his decision to march in the annual event.
“Our request is simple, we know the Mayor loves the Parade, but for this year let’s avoid this distraction and put the focus back on Santa and Mrs. Claus,” Ron Barbaro wrote in the letter to the mayor’s chief of staff, Earl Provost.
diss mekk mii laff dem waan fe shift da focus back pon fictional peeps so dem doan waan da mayor fe attended even dough imm luv snow fe ski
Rob Ford admits to buying illegal drugs as mayor, ‘threatens’ city councillor during ugly debate on his future Natalie Alcoba and Josh Visser | 13/11/13 9:03 AM ET
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan DenetteMayor Rob Ford confronts Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong at city council in Toronto on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013.
Minutes after a schoolyard-style confrontation on the floor of Toronto’s city council, Mayor Rob Ford was forced to admit to buying illegal drugs over the last two years, while at the same time saying he “absolutely” had zero tolerance for drugs, guns and gangs.
The mayor was accused of physically “threatening” Denzil Minnan-Wong, the councillor who is pushing forward a motion calling on him to step down.
Not long afterwards, Mr. Minnan-Wong asked the mayor “have you purchased drugs in the last two years?” After a long silence, the mayor answered: “Yes, I have.”
The developments came as city council debated Minnan-Wong’s motion to ask Ford to step aside and deal with his problems after he admitted to smoking crack cocaine while in a “drunken stupor.” He also admitted to the existence of the notorious video, that police say they now have in their possession. Meanwhile, a judge has ordered the release of redacted documents related to the drug arrest of Ford’s friend and a police investigation into the Ford video.
In a further insult to the mayor, the organizers of the Santa Claus Parade formally asked him not to participate this year. They asked him to be a “spectator” and said he’d be a “distraction.”
After months of controversy and little comment from Ford, city councillors relished the opportunity to directly question the mayor. Mayor Ford was put through a combination of cross examination and intervention by his colleagues on council, with some asking pointed questions about his drug use, and others who wanted to know if he was an addict. Councillor Giorgio Mammoliti told reporters he thought the mayor was approaching rock bottom.
Asked by Councillor David Shiner if he has admitted everything, Mayor Ford said: “I don’t know, there might be a coat hanger left in my closet. I don’t know what’s left.”
Councillor Doug Ford was on CNN Wednesday afternoon, claiming his family had been subject to death threats and his four daughters have been threatened with “sodomy” and “rape.”
He also said he was surprised by his brother’s drug buying admission Wednesday morning.
Ford also repeated his claim that the mayor was the “most honest politician in Canada” and said other councillors were “flogging” the mayor.
He told council that the reason he drank or did drugs was not because of stress but because of “sheer stupidity.”
He maintained he is neither an alcoholic nor addicted to drugs, although he conceded that from the outside, it may look like he has a “problem.” “I ask for forgiveness, I’ve apologized and I want to move on,” said Mayor Ford. But the drama reached a new fever pitch just before the lunch hour, when Councillor Doug Ford rose to his feet to blast others in the chambers who presented themselves as “lily white.” He demanded to know if Councillor Minnan-Wong had ever smoked marijuana, which got no answer. “The answer is yes, I guess,” bellowed Councillor Ford.
“The whole council will stand up, so don’t come across, don’t come across, like you’re holier than thou, because you’re not,” he continued to shout after the speaker shut off his microphone. “Everyone should be careful about throwing rocks in a glass house. Have you ever done illicit drugs Minnan-Wong?” Throughout all the commotion, the mayor kept saying “answer the question!” until Speaker Frances Nunziata called a recess. Councillor Ford kept yelling at Mr. Minnan-Wong: “Don’t pretend you’re a Christian when you aren’t.”
The mayor then took five strides towards Mr. Minnan-Wong, but was intercepted by Councillor Ford who grabbed his arm.
Councillor Maria Augimieri rose to her feet, in instinctual defence of Mr. Minnan-Wong. Afterwards, Mr. Minnan-Wong suggested the mayor is “out of control” and said there is no place for “thuggery” in the council chambers.
Councillor Gord Perks is asking that the motion be referred to the integrity commissioner for further investigation.
Councillor Michael Thompson asked the mayor about the infamous picture of him in front of 15 Windsor, which police have described as a crack house.
“That is not a crack house. It is a house with a family, with a father and a mother, three sons, and daughter,” Ford argued.
“Have you ever been in that house?” the mayor asked Mr. Thompson.
“I have no interest being in that house. I’m not a crack user,” Mr. Thompson shot back.
Of the three young men in the picture with Ford, one has been killed and the other two have been arrested.
“I am not part of gang bangers. I met those people once and I have never seen them again,” Ford said.
Mayor Ford also said he was “not an addict,” a week after admitting to smoking crack cocaine while in a “drunken stupor.” “I am not an alcoholic, I am not a drug addict,” he said.
Ford was also asked why he is refusing to speak with police and he repeatedly said he wasn’t because his lawyer had told him not to.
The mayor was asked by Speaker Frances Nunziata to apologize to Mr. Denzil Minnan-Wong for the earlier confrontation, drawing an angry reaction from Ford, who said he had nothing to apologize for.
“All I asked him to do is take his seat while people are asking questions,” Ford said. “I did not threaten him in any way, shape or form… there is nothing to apologize for when I’m following the rules.”
Mr. Minnan-Wong said: “What he was doing is threatening me by his presence and standing close to me. And it was deliberate.”
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan DenetteMayor Rob Ford, back right, is grabbed and held back by his brother Councillor Doug Ford, left, and he tries to confront Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, back right, at city council in Tyler Anderson / National PostProtesters hold a signs that read 'resign' and 'Ford you are an abomination' during a protest against Toronto mayor Rob Ford in front of City Hall in Toronto, Ontario, November 13, 2013. Council was in session today debating a motion put forth by council to appeal to the provincial government to have the mayor removed from office Matthew Sherwood for National PostMayor Rob Ford blocks councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong from approaching speaker Frances Nunziata and allegedly tells him to take his seat during a council meeting at city hall in Toronto on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. Today council is debating a motion asking the mayor to apologize to the people of Toronto, co-operate with police and to take a leave of absence. With files from Peter Kuitenbrouwer and Post staff
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THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan DenetteMayor Rob Ford confronts Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong at city council in Toronto on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan DenetteMayor Rob Ford, back right, is grabbed and held back by his brother Councillor Doug Ford, left, and he tries to confront Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong, back right, at city council in 
Tyler Anderson / National PostProtesters hold a signs that read 'resign' and 'Ford you are an abomination' during a protest against Toronto mayor Rob Ford in front of City Hall in Toronto, Ontario, November 13, 2013. Council was in session today debating a motion put forth by council to appeal to the provincial government to have the mayor removed from office
Matthew Sherwood for National PostMayor Rob Ford blocks councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong from approaching speaker Frances Nunziata and allegedly tells him to take his seat during a council meeting at city hall in Toronto on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. Today council is debating a motion asking the mayor to apologize to the people of Toronto, co-operate with police and to take a leave of absence.
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