Funny Picture

#Toronto Rob Ford learned today that his appeal in the conflict of interest case was successful and he will remain in the Mayor's position. Toronto Council would have had sixty days to decide to either appoint someone - including Rob Ford, to take over as Mayor, or they could call an by-election to fill the role which is expected to cost many millions of dollars if Rob had lost. You can see the Divisional Court Notice of Appeal of Judgement for Magder v. Ford, 2013 ONSC 263 results online after 10:30 am on Friday, January 25, 2013. the Appeal was heard on January 7, 2013 for the case of Paul Magder vs Robert Ford. Because Rob Ford did not have a pecuniary interest in the matter he voted on, which led to the conflict of interest case, he was not in conflict. The Court also noted that the City was ultra Vires, or outside their authority, when they imposed a sanction against the Mayor for repayment of monies he did not personally receive.


"Accordingly, the application judge erred in failing to find that Decision CC 52.1 was ultra vires by imposing a sanction not authorized by the COTA.

In addition, Decision CC 52.1 went beyond the “Other Actions” contemplated by the Code, because it required Mr. Ford to reimburse funds which he never received personally. The “Other Actions” set out in the Code include reimbursement of monies “received”. Here, the evidence is clear that Mr. Ford never personally received any of the money donated for the football foundation. All funds were received by an arm’s length entity, the Toronto Community Foundation. Therefore, the sanction was not authorized by the Code nor by the COTA.

Given that the imposition of the financial sanction under Decision CC 52.1 was a nullity because Council did not have the jurisdiction to impose such a penalty, Mr. Ford had no pecuniary interest in the matter on which he voted at Council on February 7, 2012 - namely, the revocation of the Decision CC 52.1.

Conclusion [96] In light of our conclusion that Decision CC 52.1 was a nullity because of the nature of the financial sanction it imposed, the appellant has not contravened s. 5(1) of the MCIA. Therefore, the appeal is allowed, the judgment of the application judge is set aside and the application under the MCIA is dismissed."