In the last three years, St. Luke’s United Church on Sherbourne and Carlton streets has spent around $1,000 annually to remove graffiti. The church even needed to buy an $800 power-washer. St. Luke’s would remove graffiti once every…
On Tuesday night, a line wrapped around Toronto City Hall as many turned out to pay their respects to former Toronto mayor Rob Ford.
For supporters who marched along with the procession, Ford’s personal issues no longer mattered. During the procession the crowd erupted, chanting, “best mayor ever” and “Rob for the people.”
Grace Guarnieri never really knew Rob Ford, but she says he still left a lasting impression on her. In a phone conversation, some time ago, the owner of Second Elegance on Pape Avenue mentioned to the then mayor that her father was ill. Subsequently, Ford phoned back to ask if there was anything he could do.
“That’s epic. Who remembers that?” Guarnieri said. “I mean, just that act was consolation enough,” she said. “It was just him doing what he loved to do.”
We perceived a change in Mr. Ford toward the end of his life. And it was hard for even those opposed to his mayoralty to not feel sadness at his passing last week. Losing someone to cancer, after all, is something that most of us can relate to. Maybe all of this helps to explain the suddenly soft tone of news media coverage toward Mr. Ford, and the outpouring of sympathy at what seems like a state funeral this week.
The reaction to Ford’s death, at age 46 after a long fight with cancer, appeared to be divided on Toronto streets and on social media.
Rob Ford was “very true to himself and his principles”, Mayor John Tory said. Tory spoke with media following the news that the former mayor and Ward 2 councillor had died at the age of 46 after fighting a rare cancer. “(Rob Ford) was above all else a profoundly human guy, and he will be missed,” Tory said.
Former Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has died.
With the one-year anniversary of John Tory being elected Toronto’s mayor upon us, inevitably, comparisons between him and former leader Rob Ford are being made.
Tory built his campaign on city unification, upgrading transit and housing and ending the “circus” at city hall, while Ford wanted to improve the TTC and bring more transparency to city council.
With such differing agendas, how do the two compare?
Former Toronto mayor Rob Ford has achieved a new level of fame appearing in an ad for a well-known furniture store.