“You’d have to ask him about what law he’s citing then,” Gerretsen told the Star on Wednesday.
Blair has repeatedly refused to answer questions about any potential Ford link to the Project Traveller drugs-and-guns investigation, whether there is a criminal probe of the mayor’s office, or if police have recovered a video appearing to show him smoking crack cocaine.
News of the video launched weeks of turmoil and turnover in the mayor’s office, which continued Wednesday with the disclosure that a sixth staffer had resigned and another was suspended for a week without pay.
The chief said last week that he has received legal advice from the Ministry of the Attorney General’s office and has referenced the Criminal Code and the Police Services Act, saying he is “following that law to the letter.”
Police officials have maintained their refusal to direct the Star to the sections or portions of those rules the chief says prevent him from disclosing that information.
On Wednesday, police spokesperson Mark Pugash said the chief advised him that he got his advice from James Cornish, the assistant deputy attorney general and former SIU director.
“He takes his legal advice from Crown attorneys, not politicians,” Pugash said on behalf of Blair.
Cornish did not comment to the Star.
Gerretsen stressed that it is not unusual for a police chief to consult with lawyers in his ministry.
“Let’s get one thing clear: The police do investigations. If those investigations lead to a charge, then the Crown prosecutors deal with the charge in court, etc.,” the attorney general said.
“From time to time, the police — before laying a charge — will consult with one of the many Crown attorneys that we have, to get some legal advice with respect to that charge,” he said.
“If the police chief says that he did that, then he did that. I don’t know who he did that with. We’ve got … over 1,000 Crowns and assistant Crowns in the province of Ontario, and those kind of discussions may go on from time to time.”
The province’s top lawyer insisted he couldn’t say much more about Blair.
“I’m not going to comment on what he did or didn’t do. He will deal with the investigation to the best of his ability, and that’s all I want to say,” said Gerretsen. “He is in charge of the investigation. He has to do what he has to do.”
Ford, meanwhile, is keeping mum.
Asked twice Wednesday if he has given, or would give, Blair permission to discuss whether Ford figures in the Project Traveller investigation, which netted 44 arrests of alleged gang members involved in smuggling guns and drugs, the mayor ignored the questions and kept walking.
Ford answered questions on other topics while visiting a plaza at Finch and Kipling Aves. to kick off a crackdown on pasting posters on public property.
When a Star reporter repeated the question about giving the police chief permission to say the mayor is not part of the drugs-and-guns probe — if that is the case — his spokesman, Sunny Petrujkic, said: “Stop shouting questions” as Ford walked away from reporters.
The turmoil in Ford’s office continued this week with the suspension of one aide and the resignation of another. Ford has now lost six staffers to resignation since the scandal erupted in mid-May. A seventh employee, former chief of staff Mark Towhey, was fired.
On Tuesday, Ford suspended his director of operations and logistics, David Price, for calling a Toronto Sun reporter to complain about a headline on a story involving himself, and refusing to identify himself. Price, Ford said Wednesday, is a hard worker who “made a mistake.” He was given a one-week suspension without pay.
The article was about phone calls Price made, before he was hired by Ford, to the weekly Newstalk 1010 radio show co-hosted by Ford and his brother, Councillor Doug Ford.
Introduced by the Fords at various times as “Dave from Etobicoke,” “Dave from Scarborough” and “Dave from Georgetown,” Price lauded the Fords and colourfully attacked initiatives they opposed. Neither Price nor the Fords mentioned that they had known each other for roughly 30 years.
A city spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that Christopher Fickel is no longer employed by the mayor’s office. Fickel, who served as both a special assistant and assistant to the chief of staff, helped Ford with constituency work. He was best known, though, for his controversial role on the coaching staff of Ford’s Don Bosco Eagles football team.
Fickel was listed as an assistant coach on the team’s game rosters. He often used a government car for football events, a possible violation of city policy. He was also listed as a contact person on the Facebook page for Ford’s summer team. And in March, he sent unsolicited emails to Catholic schools in March to offer them up to $10,000 from Ford’s foundation to start football teams. Ford no longer coaches the team.
Blair’s statement that he had consulted with the attorney-general’s office came after a series of reports about the crack-smoking video, which two Star reporters viewed. Sources previously told the Star that police became aware of the video’s existence during surveillance for Project Traveller. Ford has said the video doesn’t exist and that he does not smoke crack cocaine.
He has also been linked to the gang sweep after two of the arrested suspects turned out to be in a photo the Star was given, showing Ford with three men. The third man was shot dead in March.
That photo is believed to have been photographed outside 15 Windsor Rd., an address subject to a search warrant.
Another address on Dixon Rd. was also subject to a warrant. It is one of two apartment units, sources told the Star, whose addresses Ford blurted out at a meeting with staff, saying the video could be found there.
Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author: Robert Benzie, Jennifer Pagliaro
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