TORONTO

Councillor Doug Ford says the defamation notice he received on behalf of Chief Bill Blair is before his lawyer and a decision on what to do next has not yet been made.

But the councillor said he is surprised it has gone this far.

“I was just expressing my opinion,” Ford said Tuesday. “I guess I can’t express my opinion anymore.”

On the chief, Ford has expressed it before. He once called him the “most political police chief” he’d ever seen.

And Ford, who has also sparred with the top cop over the police budget, formally complained about Blair’s salmon fishing junket to New Brunswick with Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) member Andy Pringle.

But it was his suggestion that a subpoena calling for Mayor Rob Ford to testify at a trial next year for the extortion case against Sandro Lisi had been leaked that has caused him the most trouble.

Blair has initiated a defamation action against the councillor, calling for an apology.

His spokesman, Mark Pugash, said there will be no taxpayers’ money involved in the suit.

Still, Doug Ford said he’s not anxious to have a long, expensive court fight with the chief of police over what he says is something from the theatre of politics.

Whether he decides to apologize or proceed in another direction is yet to be decided, he said.

Ford said he does find it interesting that media reports came out about the serving of the notice since he hadn’t said anything, and he defiantely asked, “Who leaked this story?”

“I received it at 10:30 (p.m.) Monday and sent it over to the lawyer and did not say anything to anybody,” Ford said.

Later Tuesday Mayor Ford told reporters he wondered how “the media heard about it two seconds” after his brother was served.

Doug Ford has suggested the timing of information on his brother being called to testify was one day removed from the board deciding to not extend the chief’s contract.

Ford said he will refrain from saying anything further about the chief or commenting on why Blair took this approach.

Doug Ford had told the Toronto Sun’s Don Peat in an interview last week that he regretted making the comments.

Ford said Tuesday he saw it as an in-the-moment emotional reaction to such personal information being released before his brother ever heard about it.

The chief last month told me there was no need for the mayor to apologize for his vulgar taped remarks about Blair at the Steak Queen.

He feels differently about Councillor Ford’s comments.

Rather than waste the public and court’s time, Blair and Doug Ford should get together to iron this out and maybe hug it out.

There must be something more pressing and of importance to the city that both could be working on.

They are good guys who do, afterall, both work for us.

The whole thing raises some questions for the TPSB on whether they want to continue with this chief until next April when his contract expires or to encourage him to go on owed vacation time and name an acting chief until they decide on a replacement.

When you have a chief publicly feuding with a mayoral campaign, it might be the best solution.

Doug Ford wisely did not comment on his thoughts about it.

He has enough problems already.

But the board should be asked about it at a meeting Thursday.