Battle between mayor and Toronto Community Housing at a standstill
Posted March 4, 2011 7:16 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO, Ont. – The battle between Mayor Rob Ford and Toronto Community Housing has reached a standstill, as Ford’s demands that the CEO quit have not been met.
Seven members of the civilian board have already resigned in the wake of a spending scandal, but Keiko Nakamura has given no indication that she is ready to step down.
“She made it very clear that she was to stay,” said board member councillor Raymond Cho. “I think there’s a lot of merit in keeping her.”
Meanwhile, the power to fire her lies with the board of directors and not the mayor. A Ford-driven motion to wipe out the entire board, including two tenant-elected members who are refusing to leave their posts, will be debated at City Hall next week.
“The motion that the mayor’s putting through to council is to ask the board of directors to resign from the board, which includes the members of council as well – everyone on the board,” said councillor Frances Nunziata.
The former boss of the TCHC, who now works for another agency, could also be included in the cuts.
Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Doug Holyday told 680News Nakamura will likely stay on until April.
“As soon as the new board’s constituted, which we hope will be within the month, they can deal with her situation,” he said, adding that they hope to bring forward a recommendation at the next council meeting.
“The right thing for them to do is to step aside so that a fresh board can be appointed, which may or may not include them,” said Ford’s board representative John Parker. “It’s not personal, but I do wish that they would take the queue that their colleagues gave.”
The Toronto Community Housing web site has already dismantled the biographies of all of the directors.
