Ontario's Progressive Conservatives appear willing to back the Liberal government if it moves to oust Rob Ford from office.
“We need to get this behind us,” PC Leader Tim Hudak said outside his Queen’s Park office. “If the city says that they legitimately cannot function, then we do have an obligation at the provincial level, within the powers that we have, to ensure some clarity and stability.”
The position is similar to that of Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals: she said last week that she is ready to give councillors more powers to sanction Mr. Ford if they ask for them. Council currently does not have the authority to remove the mayor from office, but the province could change the law to give them this ability.
Ms. Wynne’s party controls only a minority of seats in the legislature, making the backing of another party crucial.
New Democratic Leader Andrea Horwath was non-committal Monday, but left the door open to working with Ms. Wynne and Mr. Hudak if the province is asked to step in.
Municipal Affairs Minister Linda Jeffrey estimated that, if all three parties co-operated, it would take one or two months to pass new legislation on Ford. But she stressed the province will not step in unless the city requests it to.
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