TORONTO – On November 5, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine.
His admission came after approximately six months of allegations a video existed showing him smoking what might be the street drug and just days after Chief Bill Blair acknowledged police had recovered the video from a hard drive seized in June.
Global News looks back on the mayor’s tumultuous two weeks from when he admitted to smoking crack to council’s decision to strip him of powers.
Just a few hours after his shocking admission, the mayor held a press conference at city hall during which he apologized but said he has no intention of stepping down.
“For the sake of the taxpayers of this great city, for the sake of the taxpayers, we must give back to work immediately. We must keep Toronto moving forward,” he said. “I was elected to do a job. And that’s exactly what I’m going to continue doing.”
A few hours after his admission, two motions had been put forward by councillors – both friend and foe – that sought to strip him of his power and urged him to take a leave of absence.
In-Depth: Mayor Rob Ford
Despite that, the mayor carried on. The next day, Ford gave a tour of his office to a group of students at city hall for Take Your Kids to Work day.
On November 7, two days after the mayor’s admission of drug use, the Toronto Star released a video showing Ford in an apparent fit of rage.
The video, recorded on an angle apparently from a cell phone, shows the mayor in a fit, slapping his legs and shouting about an unidentified person.
“When he’s dead, I’ll make sure that motherf—er… I need f—ing 10 minutes to make sure he’s dead.”
The context of the video is unknown and the mayor wouldn’t clarify except to say he was “very, very inebriated.”
Despite allegations of drug and substance abuse, a motion to restrict his powers and a video showing him in a fit of rage, the mayor attended a Remembrance Day ceremony on November 11 and laid a wreath at a Toronto memorial.
And the next day, Ford spent the majority of his work day sitting in the lobby of city hall selling and signing limited edition bobbleheads of himself. The bobbleheads, which sold for $20, were part of an effort to raise money for the United Way.
Council met for its first session of city council since the mayor’s admitted drug use on November 13. Ford had made Denzil-Minnan-Wong’s motion urging him to step aside a priority for the meeting and thus several hours were spent debating the motion.
During the debate, the mayor admitted to buying illegal drugs while in office, apologized again but still refused to resign.
“There’s nothing else to say guys. I really eff-ed up and that’s it,” he said, seconds before saying he’s “done a great job running this city.”
“I’m moving on. You guys can do what you want.”
The next day, Ford created another controversy when he used coarse language to say he never told a female staffer he wanted to have oral sex with her.
The mayor said he’s “happily married” and has “more than enough to eat at home.”
Ford made the comments as he denied allegations made in police documents that he made lewd comments to a female staffer last year. None of the statements in those police documents have been tested in court.
Standing beside his wife Renata, the mayor apologized for the remarks later in the day and said he was getting professional help. He did not say however, what kind of help he was receiving.
As council continued, Norm Kelly was chosen to effectively replace Mayor Rob Ford. Council voted overwhelmingly to strip the mayor of all his non-statutory powers and transferring them to Kelly. Council also slashed the mayor’s budget and staff.
The debate itself was controversial as the mayor and his brother got into a shouting match with a largely anti-Ford crowd. At one point the mayor, thinking his brother was getting into a fight, sprinted across the floor and accidentally knocked over councillor Pam McConnnell.
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