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No winners with Ford ousted

Investigating the
viewpoints

By Eric Wilkins,
Staff Writer

oronto Mayor Rob

Ford seems set to
soon be ex-Toronto
Mayor Rob Ford. Due
to a ruling by Judge
Charles Hackland on
Ford’s breaching of the
Municipal Conflict of
Interest Act (MCIA), Ford
will be forced from office
on December 10.

Initially, I was
firmly on one side of the
argument. However, after
further reflection, there
are several sides to this,
and all have relevance.
To begin, there’s the
side of the ruling. Ford
did something wrong.
Back in March of 2010
when he was still a city
councillor, Ford tried to
raise funds for his private
foundation that helps
underprivileged kids
play football. There was
a slight issue with his
admirable act though:
Ford made use of official
city letterhead. Fresh
envelopes bearing gold
seals and the City of
Toronto’s logo along
with Ford’s official title
were sent out to solicit
funds for his private, non-
work-related foundation.
$3,150 towards the
foundation was the
result of his efforts. As
bad as his abuse of city
resources was though,
the real trouble was
yet to come. In August
of the same year, Ford
both discussed and
voted on the incident at
a city council meeting,
despite being cautioned
that he was possibly
creating a conflict of
interest. In March of
2012, a complaint arose

 

rat

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford speaks to the press at city hall

about Ford’s actions,
suggesting that he was
in violation of the MCIA.
Violating the MCIA
requires the perpetrator
to be deposed, and thus,
Ford’s on his way out.
Ford’s a very public
figure. He seems to
crave the spotlight
and keeps the public
entertained with his
endless outlandish

Photo courtesy of Nathan Denette/CP

taking two public
transit buses off their
routes (and dropping
off their passengers) to
pick up his high school
football team, and—my
favourite—delivering
this quote about cyclists:
“What I compare bike
lanes to is swimming
with the sharks. Sooner
or later you're going to
get bitten...Roads are

Opinions

city resources. What he
was likely unaware of,
however, was the penalty
for doing so. And he

got nailed for it. Good
riddance.

But wait! Don’t
crucify the man yet.
Keep in mind that he’s
essentially being expelled
for collecting $3,150 for
charity. Yes, the means
with which he achieved
this goal were wrong,
but has he really done
anything horrible?
Politicians have done far
worse and managed to
stay in office. Remember
Gordon Campbell’s
DUI? I don’t recall him
being expelled from
office. Or even Kyle Rae,
aname Ford himself
brought up, and his
$12,000 retirement bash
using campaign funds?
Ford’s wrongdoing
by comparison—and
even without—was
exceptionally tame.

Along with this, it
should be noted that
judges dismiss cases
all the time. If there’s a
lack of evidence or it’s
simply not a case for
the courts, judges can
throw it out. Ford got
removed for, relatively
speaking, pocket change.

Keep in mind that hes essentially being expelled

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for collecting $3,150 for charity. Yes, the means
with which he achieved this goal were wrong,

but has he really done anything horrible?

antics. Examples of
these indiscretions
include: being caught
in possession of
marijuana, being drunk
at a hockey game and
creating a scene (which
he amusingly denied,
then admitted and
apologized for), reading
and talking on a cell
phone while driving,

built for buses, cars, and
trucks, not for people on
bikes. My heart bleeds
for them when I hear
someone gets killed, but
it’s their own fault at the
end of the day.” Ford
knew full well he was in
a conflict of interest when
he voted against his
having to pay back the
money he raised through

Does the city really care
about a few envelopes
going out on their dime?
After Ford checked up
with the donors, it was
even revealed that many
didn’t want repayment.
No harm, no foul.

As for those who say
that, regardless of the
damage or lack thereof,
an obvious offence was

committed, keep in mind
that there are many other
openly illegal activities
that go unpunished. A
good example of this is
420: people openly smoke
pot in a public place in
full view of officers of the
law. It’s illegal to smoke
pot, yet no one gets
arrested. Why pick and
choose which harmless
crimes we turn a blind
eye to?

The last view to
consider here is that of
the city and its people.
While Ford is appealing
the ruling, it’s unlikely
that he’ll win. Therefore,
there are two directions
that can be taken from
here. Either a new
mayor is appointed,
or a by-election is run.
Neither is a good choice.
Appointing a mayor is
a gross disregard for
democracy. It’s bad
enough that a judge
decided to oust aman
who received over 90,000
more votes than his
nearest rival; choosing
anew candidate for the
job without consulting
the public is even
worse. And on the other
hand, a by-election will
cost approximately $7
million. So the choices
are either to do away
with democracy or
unnecessarily burn
through a large sum of
money that could be put
to much better use.

Everything is wrong
in this case. Ford is
guilty of a breach of
ethics, Judge Hackland
punished a man for
committing a minor
offence, and the people of
Toronto are going to get
the short end of the stick
one way or another. All
over charity. What’s the
world coming to?

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