Advertisement

News

No integrity investigation

The frockless Ford flap appears to be over.

City Integrity Commissioner Julie Leiper has found insufficient evidence to investigate claims Rob Ford ordered copies of NOW removed from city property.

Leiper notified NOW of her decision in a letter sent this afternoon (Friday May 13) and a report sent to the city clerk.

The complaint made against the mayor by NOW CEO Alice Klein alleged the mayor ordered staff to throw out copies of NOW’s March 31 – April 6 issue, which carried a photo-shopped image of a nearly naked Rob Ford on its front cover for a story entitled Naked Ambition.

The complaint, filed on April 15, alleged that Ford violated section VIII of the Code of Conduct for Members of City Council, which states “No member of Council shall use the influence of her or his office for any purpose other than for the exercise of her or his official duties.” It also alleged the mayor’s conduct was in violation of section XIV of the Code, which reads “All members of Council have a duty to treat members of the public … appropriately and without abuse, bullying or intimidation.”

An email sent by City Custodial Supervisor Lorraine Pickett to staff and obtained by NOW formed the central piece of evidence in NOW’s complaint. Pickett’s email states clearly that the order to remove copies of NOW from all city facilities came from someone in the mayor’s office.

“I have a request from the Mayor’s office to remove all NOW newspapers from all City of Toronto locations/facilities ASAP,” Pickett’s email says.

But after studying NOW’s complaint and media coverage of the event, Leiper found no reasonable grounds to believe the mayor gave the order.

“There is no suggestion in any of the material that the Mayor authorized this communication or was aware of it at the time that it took place,” her report to the clerk says. “Although one might speculate as to alternative scenarios, there must be sufficient grounds to conduct an investigation. Speculation is not sufficient.”

Advertisement

Exclusive content and events straight to your inbox

Subscribe to our Newsletter

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

By signing up, I agree to receive emails from Now Toronto and to the Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.