WATCH: Is it business as usual at city hall? Jackson Proskow reports.
TORONTO – Mayor Rob Ford continued to ignore questions Wednesday about an alleged video showing someone matching his appearance smoking what could be crack cocaine.
Following an afternoon press conference where the mayor praised city staff’s response to the flooding on the Don Valley Parkway, reporters asked him about recent staff resignations, the alleged video and a recent Toronto Star report that city staff had been ordered to delete the electronic records of his departed office staff.
“I guess we don’t have any questions about the flood this morning,” the mayor said before leaving the room.
Mayor Rob Ford leaves presser on DVP flooding when he asked questions about the ongoing controversy.
The mayor and other councillors maintain it’s “business as usual” at city hall, but the atmosphere around city hall is not normal.
NBC’s Today Show was live outside of city hall on Wednesday adding to the international headlines garnered by the recent allegations.
The mayor called the rumours “ridiculous”; his brother, Councillor Doug Ford, says the mayor called them “untrue.”
On Friday, the mayor held a press conference in which he denied using crack cocaine.
“I do not use crack cocaine, nor am I addicted to crack cocaine,” he said.
Global News has not seen the video and cannot verify its authenticity.
Now the deputy mayor is saying those accusing the mayor should either produce more evidence or move on.
“Eventually, someone has to put up or shut up,” Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday said. “We’re going on the word of drug dealers here, someone has got to come up with something other than that.”
Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong who was away on an international trip when the allegations arose, spoke to reporters for the first time Wednesday, saying the allegations haven’t hurt Toronto’s reputation.
“I can just tell you from my experience… the only thing they’re talking about is, what a great city we live in,” Minnan-Wong said. “Quite frankly, there’s no mention of the mayor.”
Where is Gawker’s money going?
An IndieGoGo fundraiser launched by Gawker to buy the alleged video reached its goal of $200,000 on Monday but the website has not yet produced the video.
While the website was public about the difficulty of getting the video, the website did promise that if the money was raised and no video was produced, the money would go to a local Toronto charity.
And now some charities are announcing their willingness to take the money.
The Canterbury Clinic, an organization based in Toronto that helps people deal with substance abuse issues, announced Wednesday it is willing to take the money, adding that $200,000 could fund the clinic for 10 months.
Gawker has given itself a month to retrieve the video before it will donate the money.
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