Minnan-Wong wants province to step in if Mayor Rob Ford doesn’t step down

TORONTO – Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong intends to put forth an amended motion to petition the province to remove Mayor Rob Ford from office if he doesn’t take a leave of absence.

“If he won’t find the exit, I think we have to show him the door,” said Minnan-Wong to reporters at city hall on Thursday.

Calls for Ford to step down have come from across the political spectrum in the days following his admission of smoking crack cocaine.

READ MORE: Mayor Rob Ford admits to smoking crack cocaine

On Tuesday, Minnan-Wong tabled a motion urging the mayor to step aside. Today, he introduced an amended version of the same motion that could ask the premier to step in.

“If the mayor decides not to take a leave of absence, I will be requesting council to petition the province to have him removed from office,” he said. “This situation is deteriorating. It’s not going away. It’s getting worse and council needs to act upon this.”

Minnan-Wong believes his motion will need near unanimous support for Kathleen Wynne to take notice, though he refused to set a target number while speaking to reporters Thursday morning.

He plans to petition his fellow councillors to vote for the motion but admits gaining the support of all 44 councillors – including the mayor and his brother Doug Ford – is unlikely.

The motion, if Wynne were to heed its call, would require a change in provincial legislation but Minnan-Wong isn’t worried about it setting a dangerous precedent.

“We’re in a situation that we’ve never seen before. The city’s reputation is being put at risk,” he said. “Extraordinary measures are needed in extraordinary times.”

Soon after the mayor made his shocking admission to drug use, councillors immediately began plans to restrict his power as mayor.

A motion put forward by John Fillion earlier this week seeks to claw back the mayor’s ability to determine which councillors chair committees and sit on his executive committee.

The mayor arrived at city hall shortly before 11 a.m Thursday morning. He walked through the front door of his office and greeted awaiting reporters with “good morning” but ignored questions of whether he’ll seek treatment.

And while the mayor continues with his work at city hall, Minnan-Wong worries that council needs to take action before the situation deteriorates further.

“It seems to be getting worse I have no confidence it’s going to get any better with the wiretap information coming out, and more information being revealed, there are rumours swirling about what might be in additional videos,” he said. “We need to deal with this.”