If you heard Rob Ford tell it, he and his 6 year old daughter were accosted by masked crusaders and his daughter was screaming, ran back in the house and Rob Ford was forced to call 911.
At first I was thinking, okay the show has gone too far.
Reality
Walsh said the mayor’s daughter wasn’t there when she showed up in his driveway in character as the outlandish, loudmouthed Marg Delahunty.
“There was no child at all,” she told the Star. “I mean, was she inside his suit jacket? We never saw any children.”
I'll agree with the points that they shouldn't show up at his private residence but I really think was over reacting by calling 911.....serious, this isn't an emergency.
Then he is upset that police services weren't dispatched quick enough. Do you think he lays awake at night wonder how slow it might be with any/all the budget cuts he wants. <sarcasm>
Regardless of one's political views, calling 911 because an unwanted television crew shows up at your door is downright irresponsible. Clearly, Ford has no understanding of what "emergency" means. He should be ashamed of himself for tying up emergency services and quite possibly delaying the response to an actual life and death situation.
As for Ford not claiming to know who she was, that it is a stretch. According the report I heard on 640 AM (Toronto) yesterday morning, CBC attempted to do the skit with Ford's consent. It was only after his (or his office's) adamant refusal that the 22 Minutes crew decided to do an ambush.
If Ford didn't use the "b" word then surely someone in the Toronto Police force who provided the information to CBC was the liar.
The bigger issue is why Ford is lying so much? Dark? No. Child? No. What kind of man hides behind an invisible 6-year old? And calling 911 because he didn't want to be interviewed, and then swearing at them because the police weren't coming fast enough?
22 Minutes has been doing these pieces with politicians for almost 20 years. Either Ford clearly knew exactly what was going on, or he is the most ignorant politician in the last 20 years.
Perhaps the most disturbing thing, however, was the newspaper he was carrying. USA Today .... who on earth gets USA Today delivered to their door?
Excellent job by Halifax Films of making this guy look like a complete and total loser! Irony is, they didn't even do anything ... had Ford simply just gone back in the house, and done nothing, there would be no story!
Toronto PD Chief Bill Blair Smiles as He Admits Lying to Public
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair admitted that he lied to the public about a secret law that prohibited members of the public from approaching the fence which kept the G20 and its delegates sequestered from the real-life city of Toronto.
Though the law was fictional, police were enforcing it, stopping citizens and searching them, as well as demanding ID. This is not actually legal in Canada. What the law extension really covered was areas within the fences erected for the G20, but, when given an inch, Bill Blair took a mile.
The only way I'm going to believe Ford is if the tapes are released. He has a history of blatantly lying until he can't avoid addressing the facts any more.
I'm sure if I ran around the streets of Toronto with a "sword" plastic or real... as you can't always tell the difference... I would be arrested and charged with Weapons Dangerous. If I had a plastic gun it's no different... so was it OK for this woman, even if it's a joke, to show up at the Mayors home uninvited with sword?
Really with all the people Ford's pissed off, he really should be thinking of having some personal security protecting himself and family... this might have been a good wake-up call.... even 911 took too long to be effective in his case.
Say that woman really was a nut-job with a real sword ? This is no joking matter... it's down right scary to think about.
I'm sure if I ran around the streets of Toronto with a "sword" plastic or real... as you can't always tell the difference... I would be arrested and charged with Weapons Dangerous. If I had a plastic gun it's no different...
Actually, it is different. The sword is nothing but an oversized kitchen knife. They are not prohibited or restricted as is a firearm. Sword, machete or steak knife, you could walk down the street with it strapped to your back all day and not get arrested. You'd get plenty of attention from police, but no weapons charges. Now, if you were to brandish the sword or make threats with it, then that is another matter, but again, replace sword with baseball bat and it is the same situation. It is all in how it is used or presented.
Where are all these alternate versions of the episode coming from? I mean, in the version I saw, the only thing Walsh was wielding at Ford was a microphone. Don't think you can get arrested for that (yet).
Throughout the country, Rob Ford is seen as a fool, and we ponder how he could possibly have been elected. Now a disreputable police chief - himself known for jack-booted over reaction is out there defending abuse of the 9-1-1 service. Give your heads a shake Torontonians.
reading this thread, it is painfully obvious that those who don't support Ford are not going to care what the facts are. Those that oppose Ford are not going to care what the facts are.
Fact: Ford has a history of lying
Fact: Blair has a history of lying
Fact: It was broad daylight when the incident happened, not dark
Fact: The was no child visible in the video
Fact: The 911 mess can be resolved by releasing the tapes
I don't understand what politics has to do with these facts. I also don't understand why my support or opposition of Ford precludes me from caring about them. Not all of us are blinded by ideology.
What was he supposed to do if he wasn't interested in playing along with a CBC skit? And oh, by the way, a skit that makes mentioned of his poll ratings (politics). Like, some of you act like playing along with a 22min skit is part of the job. It's not.
He clearly told them to get off his lawn, and they wouldn't. What are you supposed to do?
There was NO SWORD real or plastic so lets not get side-tracked on what constitutes a dangerous or prohibited weapon.
Mr. Ford had plenty of options available to him. Calling 911 should not have been one of them. We witness journalists clamoring for pictures or to ask questions all the time of politicians.
Mr. Ford had plenty of options available to him. Calling 911 should not have been one of them. We witness journalists clamoring for pictures or to ask questions all the time of politicians.
At 8AM as they come walking out of their private residences? I don't think so. The CBC isn't being entirely honest as well. Their statement claimed that the "interview" started at the end of his driveway. However, the clip shows her running up the driveway as he walks from his house to his vehicle. She then gets in his face while he's clearly politely asking her to let him get into his vehicle and puts her hands all over him when he tried to turn away. After he gets into his car, She's still in his face standing inside the vehicles door and preventing him from closing his door while he's asking to please move so he can close his door, which she didn't. It's only then that you can see him finally decide to get out and go into the house. By the way, you can see his kid standing in the front window watching the whole thing.
In my opinion, the CBC are way out of bounds on this one. Is it now OK for the media to sit outside of public peoples personal residences at all hours? Never mind the fact that this particular person was there for the sole purpose of embarrassing him in his own driveway. These were not reporters but a film crew from a mock news show, I don't really think you can cry freedom of the press on this one either. The CBC should acknowledge that they overstepped themselves. And frankly, if I had someone like her running up to me on my private property and getting in my face like she did, I'd be calling 911 as well. They were uninvited, in his face and impeded him from leaving, they should count themselves lucky he was as polite as he was. I know the folks at CBC live in rarefied air, and it must be hard for them to understand that the vast majority of people don't actually know who the "princess warrior" is, but they should understand that not everyone will want to play along and be made of fool of on camera, especially for the tiny minority who actually know that 22 minutes exist.
After reading this story and seeing some of the comments I can only say I think Mr. Ford needs to grow up or grow a pair. In the meantime I suggest he seek advice on how to handle these situations.
Please help me! There's a witch on my driveway and it's not even Halloween yet! She's an old bitty waving a black magic wand. My child is very scared and I'm not Ford tough enough to handle this situation on my own.
I don't believe that was the CBC statement. I believe that was the statement from the private production company that makes 22 minutes. Just watched the footage again, seems to start at end of driveway to me.
"These surprise interviews are what 22 Minutes are known for and have been a part of the show for years," Ball said. "The interview began at the end of his driveway and concluded shortly thereafter. The crew had no interaction with the Toronto police."
The way I read that, this is inferring that the crew was standing at the end of the driveway and started interviewing Mr. Ford. I am watching the CBC site show viewer for Ep. 6 Oct. 25. At about 12:55 of the viewer timer, you can see Mary in front of the camera leaving the sidewalk and running up to Ford who was standing at the front of his vehicle at the top of the driveway.
The kid in the window I am totally wrong on, my mistake, I mistakenly thought I saw a girl standing in the window, it actually looks like a Dora Doll.
Why are you blaming CBC on this ... it's not like they would have had any staff present
It was my understanding that the CBC was producing the show, I was under the assumption that it was filmed out of the CBC studio's. It would appear I'm 1 for 3 on my post.
The way I read that, this is inferring that the crew was standing at the end of the driveway and started interviewing Mr. Ford. I am watching the CBC site show viewer for Ep. 6 Oct. 25. At about 12:55 of the viewer timer, you can see Mary in front of the camera leaving the sidewalk and running up to Ford who was standing at the front of his vehicle at the top of the driveway.
The statement said that the interview started at the end of the driveway; it didn't say whether they walked onto the driveway or not.
It sounded to me that they were just making a joke about the brevity and failure of the interview ... rather than trying to say the weren't on his property. The spokesman likely had been briefed that the whole thing was a colossal failure ... little did they know that Ford had rescued them.
They overstepped the bounds. Show me one other political figure where she accosts them in the driveway of their personal residences. It's uncalled for and an invasion of privacy.
I feel to the 911 issue is more of a deflection and an attempt to make him look like he over reacted to their bad behaviour. Can anyone ring off the local police's phone number anymore. I can't, 911 has become the default now.
One last thing I noticed after going back and watching the "interview" is that when she has him cornered in the vehicle, it appears as if something has been edited out just before he gets back out. If we're calling for the 911 tapes to be released, I'd ask to see the entirety of the video as well.
They overstepped the bounds. Show me one other political figure where she accosts them in the driveway of their personal residences. It's uncalled for and an invasion of privacy.
Show me one other mayor who has declared war on the largest newspaper in their country. Ford has made himself completely inaccessible to the media, at a level that no other Canadian politician has. Even Harper has made himself available to 22 Minutes.
That's a fair request. These things are typically edited for time ... I can't imagine it was anything sinister, or we'd be hearing such claims from Ford.
According to my police sources, these tapes have been removed from the 9-1-1 data bank and placed under police seal by the chief. That’s usually done when a 9-1-1 call becomes part of a police investigation.
I'm not from Toronto, and I know very little about either of these individuals, but how the heck are they still in office? If first impressions count for anything, both these guys are grade A buffoons. How did Ford get elected in the first place??
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