Doctor speaks with CBC, confirms Rob Ford is in rehab

ABOVE: There are media reports Rob Ford is in fact in rehab – but questions remain. Is Ford really taking this seriously when he is still making calls to media and constituents? Mike Drolet talks to an addictions specialist.

TORONTO – After days of speculation over the whereabouts of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, CBC News says it has spoken with a doctor who confirms the mayor has been in a in-patient treatment program since May 1.

The health care provider, whom CBC News agreed not to name to protect the privacy of Ford and other patients at the facility, says that he has been supervising the mayor since May 1. He says that while the mayor  left the rehab facility to undergo a medical exam at a hospital between May 3 and May 7, Ford was receiving “concurrent care” from the facility.

WATCH: Jimmy Kimmel spoofs Rob Ford in “The Biggest Mayor”

Since announcing he would enter rehab for alcoholism last week, Rob Ford’s road to recovery has been a source of contention among the media, his family and peers as well as the general public.

It began after word that Rob Ford had voluntarily declined to enter the United States, where it was believed he was to seek treatment in Chicago.

Despite assurances from the mayor’s brother, Coun. Doug Ford, that the mayor had indeed entered rehab, Rob Ford sightings began popping up across the country, buoyed by the mayor’s dubious track record for telling the truth.

With speculation mounting, Doug Ford said he would provide proof of his brother’s whereabouts by end of day Friday.

In an addendum to the CBC article, Doug Ford expressed his desire to “stop the speculation” about his brother’s whereabouts, such as claims that he had been spotted close to home at a Tim Hortons in Toronto’s west end, and as far away as Calgary.

The elder Ford said he wants Torontonians to know the Mayor is taking treatment seriously, and that he intends to come back and continue “serving the people.”

With files from CBC News