Toronto Residents Complain about Ford Fest Permit

This article was last updated on April 16, 2022

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Toronto residents have flooded the city hall and city ombudsman with complaints over the issuance of a permit for “Ford Fest” despite a prominent ban on holding campaign activities in city parks. Office of the city ombudsman, Fiona Crean, confirmed to have received more than 100 objections to the permit on Monday, while a bulk of other residents only complained at the city hall.

All complainants expressed disagreement over a permit issued by a city department on Tuesday, allowing the mayor and Councillor, Doug Ford, to host the annual Ford Fest barbecue on Friday at Thomson Memorial Park in Scarborough. According to a city policy imposed since July 2012, council members were strictly prohibited from campaigning on city property, including parks. Although Mr. Ford claimed to have sought the permit for a special event, his mayoral rivals and many others are emphasizing on the signs and slogans used for the event to be election related.

In the past, the mayor has claimed the expenditure of Ford Fest as a campaign expense. Many complainants reported to have received Ford robocall on Tuesday night, which publicized the events and asked recipients if they support him and connected to those who do to his campaign office. Additionally, there was an invitation on Mr. Ford’s website too, though it was quickly retracted on Wednesday. Mr. Ford told reporters that “it’s not a campaign event,” and that “we’ve been doing this for 19 years … And we have robocalled before and we will robocall next year — that’s how you invite people. You cannot, it’s virtually impossible to get to everyone’s’ door with an invitation.”