Toronto residents call for Rob Ford to step down

'I hear that there are homophobic slurs in this video and I’m waiting to hear what the mayor has to say' protester says

The day after Mayor Rob Ford admitted to smoking crack cocaine, Torontonians gathered in front of city hall to call for him to resign and get help.

Protesters gathered outside Toronto City Hall Nov 6 to call on Mayor Rob Ford to step down.

After months of lying about his drug use, Ford admitted Nov 5 that he’d smoked crack cocaine and that he has an alcohol problem. However, rather than stepping down to get help, Ford said he will stay on as mayor. He did not address allegations that he was also filmed making homophobic and racist slurs.

“The man needs help, he needs to leave,” one protester told Xtra. (Check out Xtra‘s photo gallery from the protest here.)

Another protester said he was at city hall to get answers: “I hear that there are homophobic slurs in this video and I’m waiting to hear what the mayor has to say.”

Check out the video above for more of Xtra‘s coverage of the protest.

Watch Xtra‘s interview with Robyn Doolittle, one of three reporters known to have seen the video.

A second protest has been planned for Wed, Nov 13 at noon at Nathan Phillips Square.

Keep Reading

Girlguiding patches

Trans girls banned from U.K. Girl Guides following Supreme Court ruling

The U.K. Women’s Institute also announced it will ban trans women from membership

Why is everyone obsessed with this gay Canadian hockey TV show?

“Heated Rivalry” has been a breakout hit. What’s the special sauce that’s making everyone so excited?
Stills from Somebody Somewhere, Clean Slate, and Mid-Century Modern - shows with queer characters that were cancelled or ended.

Nearly half of all queer characters on TV will disappear next year

An uptick in series endings and cancellations is bad news for queer and trans representation
On the left, a black and white still from Flaming Creatures featuring a person sniffing a bouquet of flowers. On the right, an illustrated poster for the film.

‘Flaming Creatures’ and the censorship of queer art

Jack Smith’s 1963 film “Flaming Creatures” was deemed legally obscene by the U.S. Supreme Court