Rob Ford is demanding an apology from Speaker Frances Nunziata after she had him ejected from a city council meeting for refusing to retract a statement about city staff.
The ex-mayor was responding to a report about a staff trip to Italy to promote the city as a potential site for a future expo.
Ford was irritated that the price of the trip was not included in the report and implied that this was done purposefully. After some back on forth about procedural points, Ford was asked to leave the council chambers for refusing to retract his statement.
Public spat
This comes on the heels of another council spat between Ford and Mayor John Tory.
On Feb. 10 Tory felt compelled to remind Ford that he had won the election after Ford grilled him about the costs of studies related to Tory’s Smart Track transit plan.
Ford implied that the public was being misled about the cost of council activities. However Tory said that the issue was publicly debated during the mayoral campaign last year.
Ford vows to run
The Smart Track study is the type that is regularly approved by council with little controversy. Council voted to approve the $1.6 million needed for the Smart Track study.
Toronto City Council finds itself in a somewhat unusual situation as there is both a new mayor and the ex-mayor sitting on council, with the ex-mayor vowing to run again in the next election provided he is healthy enough to do so.
Rob Ford was forced to pull out of the Toronto mayoral election after he was diagnosed with cancer last year. His treatment left him too weak to campaign.
Ford’s longtime ally, councilor Giorgio Mammoliti, joined him in protest by leaving council chambers after Ford was ejected from council.
Speaker Nunziata has not yet issued a direct response to Ford’s demand for an apology.
Photo courtesy of the Toronto Star
