Toronto Mayor Rob Ford leaves his office at city hall on his first day back to work. (Photo by Brett Gundlock/Getty Images) Photo: (Photo by Brett Gundlock/Getty Images) Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, recently returned from rehab, granted two media outlets one-on-one interviews with him on Wednesday.
While Ford finally admitted to smoking crack on more than one occasion, as well as using marijuana, mushrooms and drinking while at work, he refused to answer some of the most damning questions around his mayoralty.
Observers were weary that any real answers to the many questions about the mayor’s activities would be forthcoming.
The Toronto Star has a list of 75 questions the mayor has not answered but should. The Globe and Mail has another 10 questions here.
Overall, both interviews went about as well as most observers expected and resulted in few actual answers or new information. Most of the serious questions, like whether or not Ford would cooperate with law enforcement, he dodged. He also dodged questions about his homophobia and racism while blaming most, if not all, of his poor behaviour on his substance abuse.
Ford’s position in the election is not looking good, but he’s by no means been eliminated from the race. The most recent polls show Olivia Chow with a clear lead, with John Tory and Ford slugging it out for second and third place. Tory wasted no time coming out against his electoral opponent for his refusal to answer key questions.
Ford also vowed to no longer associate “with the criminal element that’s before the courts,” but said on the advice of his lawyer he still will not consent to an interview with the police.
His lawyer, Dennis Morris, confirmed Wednesday that is indeed his advice to Ford, as it would be to any client.
“Everyone has the right to remain silent under our charter and if police want to investigate people that’s their duty,” he said in an interview. “Individuals do not have to co-operate in any way and I wouldn’t advise anyone trying to make a case for the police when the police should try to make a case on their own.”
When asked if he would still advise the mayor not to co-operate with police if Ford has valuable information about people charged in other investigations, Morris said, “I doubt if he does.”
Ford’s name was mentioned by alleged gang members on wiretaps in a police investigation known as Project Traveller, police say in court documents. An infamous photo shows the mayor posing with a man who was later shot and killed, as well as two other men who were both later charged in that investigation.
Former associate Alexander Lisi is facing trial next year on drug charges and has a preliminary hearing scheduled on an extortion charge relating to alleged attempts to retrieve the original so-called crack video that touched off the Ford scandal.
Ford’s voice is not on the Project Traveller wiretaps, and if the Crown wanted the mayor to testify in those cases it could subpoena him, Morris said.
There were originally supposed to be three interviews with Ford on Wednesday, one after the other. The CBC was to lead things off, followed by CP24 and CTV. But CTV’s interview with the mayor was cancelled at the last minute.
The CBC’s Dwight Drummond started the interview by holding up a photo of Rob Ford appearing to smoke crack cocaine.
“What’s happening here?” Drummond asked. “Is that a crack pipe?”
“Yes it is,” Ford responded. “I’m smoking crack.
He said that all drug use happened on personal time but that he did drink while in City Hall. He also admitted to using heroin.
“I was born with this disease, I’m going to die with this disease.”
Drummond continued to address the racist, mysoginist, homophobic remarks Ford had made while under the influence.
“If those things aren’t in your heart, why are they coming out of your mouth with such frequency?”
Ford replied that he could not imagine using that terminology.
“I think that goes along with having this disease. It’s a chronic medical condition that I’ve never understood.”
He continued with his standard refrain: “All I can do is apologize.”
Drummond followed with the idea of triggers, asking if the stresses of running the city could hurt his recovery.
Ford said his job was never a trigger and he is very proud of his public record.
As Drummond pressed Ford on his record of hateful comments, Ford continued to come back to his “this is a disease” comment.
“Why should we believe you that now you’ve finally changed?”
“You say I’ve lied to people and I’ve lied before. THe person that I was lying to the most was myself,” Ford replied. “And until I realized that I had this disease, you can never ever try to cover up.”
“I’ve dealt with this disease,” Ford added.
Drummond asked if he will now speak to investigators about the people he had associated with while purchasing drugs.
But Ford returned to his old standby line of being advised now to speak to police on the advice of his lawyer.
“Again, regardless of my alcoholism and my substance abuse problem. This is handled through my lawyer Dennis Morris. I think anyone in my position would get legal advice and that’s what I’ve done.”
“If Dennis advises me, I follow his lead… I have the top criminal lawyer in Canada.”
Drummond pushed back, though, and said that he was not asking about specific people but about the situation in general.
“I’ve made mistakes,” Ford replied.
Drummond also asked how a woman could get the keys to Ford’s SUV and drive it while allegedly under the influence, resulting in her arrest. Ford said he couldn’t answer the question and stonewalled.
“I gave her my keys,” he said. “But what happened at Greenstone, it is all confidential.”
Ford then dove into campaign mode and said his public
“My public record is better than any mayor’s,” he said. Drummond wouldn’t let him get into campaign mode, though, and directed the interview back into the more difficult questions. Drummond asked how parents should explain his behaviour to their children.
Ford returned to his old standby line. He has an illness. He is embarrassed.
Drummond closed by asking that if evidence surfaces after today that he has fallen off the wagon, would he resign.
Ford replied that he knows he didn’t drink yesterday and he knows he didn’t drink today. He’s taking everything one day at a time.
“Will you resign?”
“I”m going to repeat myself again,” Rob Ford said. As he will apparently keep doing throughout the remainder of the campaign.
Ford went right from the CBC interview into a very similar interview with CP24.
CP24′s Stephanie Smyth started her interview with a question about whether Ford was surprised to hear detractors at his Canada Day appearance. He said it didn’t feel good and thanked his doctors for helping him through his recovery.
She asked if he was a heroin user and he denied using that drug.
“No, I was not a heroin user. I’ve never used heroin.”
She asked where he got his drugs and Rob Ford said he was not going to get into it. “I’m not going to get into the criminal element.”
“Do you think someone with uncontrollable cravings can effectively operate as chief magistrate of this city?”
He refused to answer that question and said being an addict was going to be a long recovery.
Throughout the interview with Smyth, he used many of the same lines and stories that he had used previously with Drummond. Lines like “I was born with blonde hair and I’ll die with blonde hair” and also “I know I didn’t drink yesterday and I know I didn’t drink today” were both phrases he used repeatedly to side-step questions.
He also said that keeping busy was one of the best things he could do for his recovery.
He also refused to answer questions about how a woman came to be driving his SUV before she was arrested on suspicion of impaired driving.
Smyth then moved on to the racist and homophobic remarks he has made throughout his mayorship.
“I offended a lot of people. All I can do is apologize and say sorry. I cannot change the past.”
Smyth asked simply: “If you’re re-elected mayor, will go to Pride?”
“Again, I’m going to take this one day at a time,” he again side-stepped the question.
Smyth moved on to the police investigation against him and he refused to answer those questions, too.
For his part, the mayor’s brother Doug didn’t do anything to help.
Toronto goes to the polls on Oct. 27.
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