Toronto Mayor John Tory says he will step down from his office after admitting to a relationship with a former staffer.
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Toronto Mayor John Tory announced on Friday that he will step down from his office after admitting to a relationship with a former staffer.
“During the pandemic I developed a relationship with an employee in my office in a way that did not meet the standards to which I hold myself as mayor and as a family man,” Tory said during a brief statement at city hall.
Tory said the relationship ended by “mutual consent” earlier this year.
The employee found employment outside of his office during the relationship, he said.
“I recognize that permitting this relationship to develop was a serious error in judgment on my part.”
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Tory said the relationship came at a time when he and his wife of more than 40 years were “enduring many lengthy periods apart while I carried out my responsibility during the pandemic.”
Tory apologizes to ‘those harmed by my actions’
The mayor said he will take time to reflect on his “mistakes” and will work to rebuild the trust of his family.
“I am deeply sorry and apologize unreservedly to the people of Toronto and all those harmed by my actions, including my staff, my colleagues on city council and the public service for whom I have such respect,” Tory said.
“Most of all, I apologize to my wife Barb and to my family who I have let down more than anyone else.”
Toronto Mayor John Tory said on Friday he is resigning after admitting to an inappropriate relationship with a staffer. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Tory said he has informed the integrity commissioner of the situation and has asked the office to review it. He said he will also work with the city manager, city clerk and Deputy Mayor Jennifer McKelvie to ensure an “orderly transition” in the coming days.
“While I deeply regret having to step away from a job I love, in a city I love even more, I believe in my heart it is best to fully commit myself to the work required to repair these most important relationships,” he said.
“As well, I think it is important for the office of the mayor not to in any way be tarnished and not to see the city government itself put through a prolonged period of controversy, arising out of this error in judgement on my part, especially in light of the challenges we face as a city.”
Tory thanked Toronto residents for trusting him as mayor.
“It has been the job of a lifetime,” he said.
In happier times, Mayor John Tory poses for a portrait in his office at city hall on Dec. 20, 2022. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
In a report on Friday night, the Toronto Star said the woman, a former employee, is 31 years old and worked as an adviser in his office.
Kristyn Wong-Tam, a former downtown councillor who is now a provincial NDP MPP, said Tory had to step down.
“It’s no secret that John Tory and I had many political disagreements,” Wong-Tam tweeted Friday night.
“I fully agree that he should resign. This is not a simple, one-time lapse of judgment. Tory was her boss and this is an abuse of power.”
Based on the City of Toronto Act, there will likely be a byelection in the coming weeks or months. City council is set to meet Wednesday to vote on this year’s budget, a spending plan Tory introduced and championed.
Councillors express shock
Coun. Paula Fletcher, who represents Ward 14, Toronto Danforth, said she was “absolutely shocked” when she heard the news. She said it was a “terrible” lapse in judgment.
“I’m getting texts and calls. I think everybody is in a bit of a state of shock right now,” she told reporters at city hall.
Fletcher said it’s unclear when Tory will resign and McKelvie is in Ottawa at a conference.
“I really think this is the moment when council is going to have to show its stuff, as it has in the past.”
Toronto Mayor John Tory resigns after admitting affair with staffer
Toronto Mayor John Tory resigned suddenly on Friday night after admitting he had an affair with a 31-year-old member of his staff.
She said council had to step in and take the reins when Rob Ford was mayor. She added the budget is coming before council next week.
“It’s the mayor’s budget. I have no idea what that’s going to look like, but I do think that all councillors are going to have to step up and keep the best interests of the city at heart during this very difficult time until we have a byelection, which I’m pretty sure we’re going to have.”
Coun. Paula Fletcher says she was ‘absolutely shocked’ by the mayor’s announcement and ‘this is the moment when council is going to have to show its stuff, as it has in the past.’ (Grant Linton/CBC)
Coun. Jamaal Myers, who represents Scarborough North, said he is shocked and feels “very sad” for Tory’s family and for the mayor. He said Tory was well-respected on “all on sides.”
“We’re just all shocked and very, very sad,” he said.
Myers added that council needs to guide the city through the mayor’s resignation
“It really matters that we have a strong council, rather than a strong mayor,” he said.
Myers said he appreciates that Tory has taken personal responsibility for his actions and he is praying for him and his family.
Tory has enjoyed strong support during tenure
Tory cruised to re-election in last October’s municipal election and has enjoyed strong support throughout most of his time in office.
He first won in 2014, beating now-premier Doug Ford and Olivia Chow. He won again in 2018, defeating the city’s ex-chief planner, Jennifer Keesmaat.
Tory first became mayor during the turbulent time following Rob Ford’s tenure in office, and appeared focused on creating a sense of stability in the city.
He held property taxes at the rate of inflation while priding himself on building relationships with other levels of government. That served him well at some points — Ford’s government recently gave him “strong mayor” powers over council — and stymied him at others.
He once bemoaned feeling like a boy in “short pants” while approaching Queen’s Park for more power, like the ability to toll the city’s two main highways: the Gardiner Expressway and Don Valley Parkway.
In a statement Saturday morning, Ford thanked Tory for his public service and said he “will be remembered as a dedicated and hard-working mayor who served as a steady leader during the most difficult days of the pandemic.”
“I wish nothing but the best for my friend in the days, weeks and months ahead,” Ford said.
Mayor John Tory is pictured here on Jan. 4, 2021 during a news conference about the city’s COVID-19 response. Tory led the city through the height of the pandemic, holding multiple news conferences per week. (Evan Mitsui/CBC)
Tory leaves office with some of his legacy projects incomplete. SmartTrack, his 2014 plan to bolster the city’s rail system using commuter lines, has been reduced to a shadow of the original promise. Building Rail Deck Park, another signature plan, appears unlikely.
Tory did, however, lead the city through the height of the pandemic, holding multiple news conferences per week. He also helped lead some reforms within the police department and was on the winning side of the lion’s share of city council votes.
Tory will also be remembered as a mayor on the move. He frequently attended several events every day across the city and was in the media frequently.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
