KING JESUS IS COMING FOR US ANY TIME NOW. THE RAPTURE. BE PREPARED TO GO.
Rob Ford protestors say resignation is the only option
Protestors used bells, posters, and chalk to make their voices heard during lunchtime rally.
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Rick Madonik
/ Toronto Star
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Mark Bullock holds his sign at a rally calling on Rob Ford to step aside.
A day after Rob Ford’s stunning admission that he smoked crack cocaine — “probably in one of my drunken stupors”
— more than a hundred protestors gathered in Nathan Phillips Square to
make it clear they’ll accept nothing less than the mayor’s resignation.A larger protest was already being planned by SaveToronto.ca, a self-described non-partisan group of people united by the belief that Ford needs to resign.But Tuesday’s
admission and Ford’s subsequent reiteration that he won’t be stepping
down was too much to ignore, said event spokesperson Nikki Thomas, so
they organized an additional, more informal rally.
People couldn’t “just sit and stew” for a week, she said.One of the protestors, Liz Reynolds, listened to Ford’s admission and heard his emotional apology. But it seemed, she said, to be all about Ford.“Mayor Ford has
claimed so many times to love the city of Toronto,” she said, “But I
feel now he’s dragging the city through the mud and if he truly did love
the city and want the best for the city then he would step down.”
Her thought was echoed in numerous chalk drawings written on the concrete in front of City Hall.“Our CITY is more important than our MAYOR!” wrote one person in green chalk.“MAYOR FORD: IF YOU LOVE TORONTO, SET IT FREE,” wrote another in yellow.“He truly seems not to
care and seems to think that he can just continue to do whatever he
wants,” said Chioni McAlister, who cheered alongside the rest holding a
homemade sign listing notable Ford moments and labelled “the many faces
of Rob Ford.”The seemingly unwavering support of Ford Nation — recent polls show him up five per cent since police announced last week they’d obtained the crack video — is what concerns McAlister the most.The petition had more than 1,300 signatures as of Wednesday morning.“I’m shocked and
appalled and kind of surprised that he’s gotten away with so much,” she
said. “We’re leading such a bad example, in every way, for children, for
politicians, for their cities.”For an hour over
lunchtime, protestors used bells, posters, and chalk to make their
voices heard, although Ford was holed up in his office, ducking
reporters.The original rally is still expected to go ahead, with a Facebook page for the rally showing more than 600 people planning to attend.It’s scheduled for Nov. 13, to coincide with a city council meeting.“Clearly the world is
watching and the one person who needs to pay attention to what’s
happening is (Ford) and he isn’t so we’re going to give him no choice
and show up,” Thomas said.In the meantime, other
residents have taken to the Internet to voice their concerns about the
mayor. Brett Belchetz started a petition on Change.org earlier this
week, calling on Ford to step down.His petition, “City of Toronto, Government of Ontario: Mayor Rob Ford must resign from office,”
gained steady support in the four days it was up, with almost 1,000
people signing. But after the mayor’s admission support snowballed.The petition had more
than 2,400 signatures by Wednesday afternoon. Despite the support,
online petitions don’t have any legal authority and Belchetz himself
said he thinks it’s “highly unlikely” Ford will resign.That’s why he’s
addressed his call for the mayor’s resignation to city councillors and
the provincial government. Seeing thousands of people who are concerned
and frustrated about the mayor’s behaviour could help councillors and
MPPs make the difficult decisions it will take to remove Ford from
office, Belchetz said.
