I don’t really want to, but after the events of the past two weeks, I suppose we can’t ignore it.
Plus,we have this propaganda video to make fun of as well!
I notice a recurring theme amongst a lot of Canadians.
We love to complain about both sides of the coin.
Our summers are too hot, and our winters are too cold.
Come on, pretend for two seconds like you’ve never complained about that dry, muggy, Toronto humidex, and months later, complained that you wished Toronto’s winters weren’t so damn freezing!
We complain that our city roads are always under construction, and the streets are always shut down, yet we take issue with the fact that those roads themselves aren’t good enough!
When it comes to Rob Ford, I think a lot of people have been complaining about him over the past two years.
But after he was ousted from office last week, I think a lot of those same people felt odd about how it went down. I certainly did.
I voted for Rob Ford, supported him, and then turned on him.
I think he’s an awful man, a terrible mayor, and a disgusting human being.
But his removal from office wasn’t the answer, and it was like a kid caught stealing from the cookie jar was beheaded rather than having his hand slapped. Okay – maybe not the best parallel, since Ford wasn’t stealing; that was just the analogy. But in essence, his reprimand was far too harsh, and simply didn’t fit the ‘crime,’ if you will.
Don’t get me wrong – I’d love to see another mayor in his place! But not like this. And not now.
The fall of 2014 was the next scheduled election, and that is when the citizens of Toronto should have decided.
Instead, we have one citizen (Paul Magder), with one Toronto lawyer who loves to get his name in the media (Clayton Ruby), and one judge who make a decision for 3,000,000 people.
That’s not fair.
Open the goddam newspaper and look what’s going on in Quebec’s political circles; there’s corruption everywhere you turn your head! Giant bags of money, mafia, and resignations.
Rob Ford has repeatedly abused his power, whether it’s forcing city workers to repair pot-holes outside his family business, pushing TTC passengers off a bus so the vehicle could come pick up his football team, voting on issues that directly affect himself, or even asking for donations for his football team via stationery that advertises his mayoralty.
But removing him from office because Clayton Ruby happens to be one of the best lawyer’s in Canada, and happened to be in need of yet another pro-bono case, is not the answer to our city’s problems.
Toronto is a joke.
I’m embarrassed to be a part of this.
Our city councillors spent six months, and god knows how many hours arguing over plastic bags!
Gord Perks is worried that there are no measures in place to monitor the plastic bag usage!
Josh Collie is using a megaphone to make sure his voice is heard!
Adam Vaughan is worried that the gap between his two front-teeth is growing!
And now, this:
The beginning of what I can only assume is a long, drawn-out, propaganda war.
The lady in this video has such a soothing voice that she could convince me plastic bags shouldn’t be banned or else we wouldn’t be able to put them over our heads in order to suffocate…
The 47-second length is the perfect amount to capture the attention span of even the most uninterested moron.
And can we talk just a little more about “underprivileged children?”
This is embarrassing.
And I have no idea where we, as a city, go from here.
Nothing has been accomplished at city hall in the past two years, especially with respect to the biggest issue plaguing our city: public transportation.
Removing Rob Ford from office now only guarantees that 50-something city councillors will take their eyes off day-to-day city business, and focus on their political aspirations instead.
I complain, yet I don’t profess to have any answers.
Have we, as a city, ever seen such a predicament?
The fact that Rob Ford and/or his handlers registered the web-domain www.respectdemocracy.ca, and put forth the YouTube video above, shows that they are not going down without a fight, and that they are in-touch enough to recognize that the Internet and social media is the best way to reach the people. But how come that domain has been shut down? Click on the link, and you’ll see. What did they have up there last week that they don’t have today?
Rob Ford was proved to be ‘in the wrong’ about a half-dozen times, and not once did he ever show any contrition. Instead, he thumbed his nose at the authorities, the opposition, and the constituents, and it was only upon being unprecedentedly removed from office that he finally offered his “Mea Culpa.”
Too little, too late.
But having said that, I don’t like how he was removed from office.
For the sake of democracy, I would have rather seen that fat piece of crap remain as our mayor for another two years, further embarrassing us on the world’s stage in a Lastman-like capacity, than have him removed the way that he was.
The YouTube video that he launched is sooooooo sad. I almost feel bad for Rob Ford, the way Ford himself feels bad for a quintillion-stacked Oreo cookie that he himself made (taking several boxes of Oreos, scooping out the cream sections, and putting them between only two cookies), right before he eats them, all the while, talking to them about the removal of the vehicle registration tax, and the Don Bosco linebacking core…
Once upon a time, I lashed out at people for taking issue with Rob Ford, “the person,” instead of focusing on Rob Ford “the mayor.” But now, I have stooped to their Oreo-loving level, and for that, I apologize. Call me a hypocrite, and I wouldn’t deem you wrong.
I just can’t help it.
I love the City of Toronto, and yet it remains as a child with no mother.
We have nobody to lead us, and we never have.
Rob Ford and Toronto City Council are like a mother-raccoon in North Toronto and her fifty raccoon-cubs, all vying for that tomato-sauce-covered napkin that some rich guy took off the floor of his Audi A7, and threw into the Green Bin.
It’s times like this that I wish I could specifically cheat on my municipal taxes, and not just all of them together…
cquee gee
at 8:52 am
3 things:
1. Ford was ably represented by one of this city’s finest litigators, Alan Lenczner.
2. You are probably too young to remember the MFP computer leasing scandal, but it was the genesis for the law you are decrying. It’s good to be reminded about WHY certain laws are in place. I don’t know whether Ford argued the constitutionality of the law, but there was nothing stopping him from doing so.
3. I like how you used the word “citizen”, which includes but goes way beyond “taxpayer”. If this situation causes us to speak more of citizenship, then bring it on. As a taxpayer, I’m not happy about the cost of a by-election. As a citizen, I am satisfied.
AsianSensation
at 10:23 am
The computer leasing scandal was more akin to the construction pay-offs happening in quebec. A far cry from letter head, donations and ignorance.
I agree with DF’s ‘slap on the wrist’ analogy.
Mikaroo
at 7:38 pm
Big scandals usually start from small fundraising/lobbying.
When a buddy who’s always chipped in for fundraising (even relatively small amounts in the hundreds/thousands) suddenly finds his company bidding on government contracts valued in the millions; its amazing how useful a few tidibts of information from politicians on the inside can ensure a tender is the ‘best’. They can also encourage a certain wording of new laws/regulations to benefit their company in the future. The best example is all banking legislation ever made.
I’m glad Toronto municipal law has made this separation between fundraising and official city business (letterhead) as clear as possible, and was designed to remove the offender from office before any scandals have a chance to be grow into something as big as MFP again.
Joe Q.
at 9:48 am
I agree with cquee gee’s comments. I also think it’s dangerous to focus too much on Clayton Ruby — he may be an attention-getter, but that doesn’t diminish Ford’s actions at all.
The “respect democracy” angle being used by the Ford camp is blatantly misleading. No-one denies that Ford won the 2010 election fair-and-square — the election is NOT being overturned. Removal from office for violating provincial conflict-of-interest laws is not the same as having the election invalidated!
Ralph Cramdown
at 10:05 am
I think you’re being naive. The mayor sent out fundraising letters on office letterhead. Who did he send them to? Was there an implied quid pro quo for those who donated? Was the mayor in a position to influence whether business was sent their way? That’s the corruption that is at the heart of this whole affair, though of course nothing can be proven.
Too often we hear the word ‘tragedy,’ but this actually is one. We have a larger than life character with a fatal flaw that leads to his downfall. With Achilles, it was missing armour on his heel. With Capone, it was tax evasion, and with Rob Ford, it is the fact that the man is a hubristic idiot who believes that the rules don’t apply to him and that there will be no consequences. Alas, he broke a rule for which the mandatory consequence is removal from office.
The delicious irony is that, as councillor, he spouted an annual tirade about others’ high office expenses, and claimed zero for himself. Once in the Mayor’s chair, he hires a former U of T football player as an “office assistant,” said football player goes on to “volunteer” at Ford’s team, and Ford cranks up the photocopier using city office supplies for non-official purposes in the move that would eventually lead to his downfall. If the Gods should not smite such a person, who should They smite?
David Fleming
at 11:22 am
@ Ralph
We need more SMITING!
Nobody gets….smited anymore!
I really miss Greek mythology…
AsianSensation
at 2:08 pm
“Delicious irony”???
Someone ate a big bowl of crusty flakes this morning!
jeff316
at 2:34 pm
That post above is one of the best summaries I’ve seen on this issue. Ford is all about football coaching, so of course there was something for him to gain by using his position with the city to drum up money for his favourite pass-time coached by none other than the man himself.
“… with Rob Ford, it is the fact that the man is a hubristic idiot who believes that the rules don’t apply to him and that there will be no consequences. Alas, he broke a rule for which the mandatory consequence is removal from office.”
Bingo. That is the issue. The punishment may be severe – and for good reason – but the rules are clear. In a way, it’s sad. Ford has always thought the rules didn’t apply to him, because until now they never have. Every one of his transgressions, with council and with the law, ended up being resolved without personal consequence to Rob Ford. It’s a hard lesson not only to learn as an adult, but also as one of the most prominent citizens in the city.
The thing I’ve never understood about him is this: as a wealthy guy, why not just coach football full-time? It’s clearly his passion, and is a constructive one to boot.
Geoff
at 10:20 am
Agree with the comments above – the punishment clearly did fit the crime.
The true irony in all of this is that for all of Ford’s crying about stopping the gravy train, his stupid actions have cost the city millions of dollars in running a new election.
It’s a basic rule of law that even if a councilor of TEN years doesn’t the know rules regarding fundraising, that ignorance is no excuse. Ignorantae juris non excusat.
Lastly the judge is in no way at fault here. In fact if anything the fact that the punishment is specifically written out and not up to the judge’s discretion actually excuses the judge from being at fault at all.
Logically, if the judge found him guilty (and if I interpret this correctly, ford KNEW he was guilty and admitted it as such) the judge could only find him guilty and could only follow the what the law said. To NOT follow the punishment prescribed by lawmakers dutifully elected would in fact be making a decision for 30,000,000 people.
PS I was a ford supporter and now wish he’d just quietly go away forever.
dave
at 10:37 am
He didn’t just break the law. He did so wilfully, (…because he’s Rob F’ing Ford!” It almost seems like he was playing chicken with the judicial process.
Unfortunately for him, he chose the law he chose to line up against has very rigid sentencing guidelines.
Good riddance
George
at 11:29 am
Mr. Fleming, your comment about the plastic bag debacle is right on point. If plastic bags are the most important thing our government can discuss, then either we have no real problems to solve or the people we have hired to solve our problems are unable or unwilling to solve them.
We have a government that tells us what is important and tells us what to do. We must find a way to reverse this relationship. Perhaps ousting the current government sets a precedent that inappropriate behaviour will not be tolerated, but it likely won’t correct our backwards relationship with our government.
johnny chase
at 12:52 pm
So Dave says he’s done with Ford… I get that. I can see how some supporters have turned on him. But so far, I’m stricking with him… here’s why:
1. There isn’t a credible alternative available at the moment. Would I rather have a baffoon like Ford or an ego maniac harvard edcuated lawyer that thinks he know what is best for everyone? I’d rather have a baffoon.
2. We know what we get with Rob. He’s not smart enough to get away with anything so we will see all of his faults.
3. He makes the tough decisions even though they are not popular. Considering library closures? Shuttering a firehall? Can you ever imagine anyone else considering these measures? I have 5 libraries within a 5 min bike ride at St. Clair and Mt. Pleasant – why shouldn’t it be considered?
I want a mayor that doesn’t look at me as a bottomless pitt of tax revenue. I want a mayor who does what he thinks is right not whats popular. I want a mayor who puts his agenda in a platform and then sticks to it… unless I see an alternative, my guess is that 90% of his former supporters will continue to vote for him and he will be elected again.
Geoff
at 2:46 pm
Why would you knowingly want a buffoon?
johnny chase
at 3:01 pm
Beacuse a lefty know it all, tax and spend mayor is worse.
cquee gee
at 4:21 pm
A-ha! You wrote “bike ride”. You’re one of them!!!
😉
Geoff
at 9:24 am
Look I don’t want Miller either but Ford is clearly a disaster.
Paging John Tory, Paging John Tory. Now’s your time.
jeff316
at 2:46 pm
You’ve fallen for it.
1. He is an ego-maniac who thinks he knows what is best for everyone.
2. He has always always gotten away with everything, up until now.
3. He’s not making hard decisions – in two years, almost nothing has been done at city hall because we have a mayor that is more concerned with coaching football, avoids the actual work involved with being a mayor, can’t organize his own allies, has an agenda of speaking points and, probably, deep down, never wanted to be mayor in the first place.
Horrido
at 1:16 pm
http://votetoronto.ca/~votetoro/en/4/1/208/Turnout-was-up-but-was-it-fear-of-or-support-for-Ford-voting-2010-turnout-Ford-Toronto-Mayor-Election-2010.htm
It’s not the voter turnout but the pool of eligible voters that needs to be considered. In 2010, 827,723 ballots were cast, or 50.59% of the eligible voters. Rob Ford did, in fact, garner a great deal of support.
ABB
at 4:08 pm
Mayor Ford privatized garbage collection west of Yonge and stared down the public sector union in 2010. He is holding to zero percent budget increases for all departments, including the greedy police. For all of that he deserves A+ and a huge vote of thanks. FORD IS MY MAN.
Mike
at 7:41 pm
He’s the most unprofessional human being I’ve ever seen, and that’s coming from a conservative. All the conflict of interest crap aside, just listen to him talk, listen to the way he speaks to people and presents himself.
Richard
at 3:43 am
While this whole situation is a farce, it’s not as if this train wreck was the only possible outcome – while the penalty for violating the conflict of interest law is pretty clear (removal from office), there were plenty of times Ford could have avoided this mess.
He was in 2010 told at the time that he probably shouldn’t participate in the debate or the vote then, since he might be conflicted, but he went ahead and did it anyhow. Council voted back then that he probably should give back the money, but he didn’t.
In 2012, when council voted on this matter again, he participated in the vote and the debate (when he probably shouldn’t have – he had been told that a vote on the exact same issue would have represented a conflict of interest before), but he did (and this is what got him into trouble). Ironically, they council voted to just let the whole thing drop by a fair margin – he could have sat the whole thing out.
The worst part is that in his ruling, Judge Hackland admits the proscribed penalty is harsh (“a blunt instrument”), but acknowledges he can hand down a lesser penalty if it turns out the violation was through “inadvertence” or “error of judgement”. Ford was asked straight-up if his decision to speak and vote were deliberate acts, whether he meant to speak and vote as he actually did, and whether he regretted what he did in hindsight. Ford said he deliberately spoke and voted, he deliberately meant to speak and vote as he did, and he didn’t regret it in hindsight. He was offered a lifeline and didn’t take it.
Ford gets a lot of flack, rightly or wrongly, for his public persona. He’s certainly not always the most sympathetic character. But in this instance, he practically went out of his way to make life as difficult for himself as possible. I can debate whether or not the law as written is harsh or the penalties too blunt. But I have tough time feeling sorry for Rob Ford considering he had so many ways to avoid this mess, and took none of them.
Joe Q.
at 10:24 am
Agreed with the above. It’s all part of a pattern of poor judgement on the part of our current Mayor, IMO.
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janu g
at 11:05 am
Nevertheless their eradication through company wasn’t the answer, and it also seemed to be being a youngster found robbing in the biscuit container seemed to be beheaded rather than obtaining their hands slapped. Okay – maybe not the top parallel, because Ford wasn’t robbing; cover letter template word that’s merely the actual analogy. But also in quality, their reprimand seemed to be way too unpleasant, and didn’t match the actual ‘crime, ’ if you will certainly.