Finance Minister Jim Flaherty says he’s had ‘personal’ talks with Ford

OTTAWA—Embattled Mayor Rob Ford hasn’t lost the support of one old friend — Finance Minister Jim Flaherty — who says he has had “personal” talks with the mayor since allegations of Ford’s drug use surfaced.

“I’ve spoken with the mayor and I’ve spoken with members of his family,” Flaherty told CBC-TV when asked if he had communicated with Ford during the current uproar at Toronto’s city hall.

“I’m very close to the family and I won’t comment further on that,” added Flaherty, looking a bit uncomfortable talking about it.

Asked if he had given Ford advice since the alleged drug use scandal broke out, Flaherty said, “My discussions with him have been personal. They haven’t been about infrastructure or anything like that.”

Flaherty, the federal cabinet minister responsible for the GTA, was a Tory MPP with Ford’s father during the Mike Harris years and has long been close to the family. The Fords have supported Flaherty’s political ambitions and Flaherty gave Ford’s mayoral bid a valuable endorsement in 2010.

As a conservative-minded politician, Ford has been right at home with Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s friends and allies.

He’s been invited to go fishing with Harper at the Prime Minister’s summer residence at Harrington Lake, Que., and in 2011 the Prime Minister thanked Ford for his help in getting the federal Conservatives elected with a majority.

But Harper, like Ontario Tory Leader Tim Hudak, has been reluctant to talk about Ford’s problems since the mayor’s alleged drug use emerged.

Original Article
Source: thestar.com
Author:  Les Whittington