TORONTO

Mayor Rob Ford is calling on Waterfront Toronto CEO John Campbell to resign.

The embattled mayor made the demand in a press conference Thursday at City Hall in the wake of the Toronto Sun story on the Cherry Beach sports fields washrooms costing $600,000. Just a few hours later, the board of Waterfront Toronto issued a statement reaffirming its support for Campbell.

“Folks, this latest example is the final straw,” Ford told reporters. “Six hundred thousand for a washroom? The CEO of Waterfront Toronto must step aside, must step aside and allow the corporation to be steered in a new fiscally responsible direction — it is not happening with this CEO at Waterfront Toronto.

“There is something drastically wrong at Waterfront Toronto. You cannot be spending $600,000 on a washroom and spending $175,000 on designing it. I’m sorry, this cannot continue,” he added.

The mayor doesn’t have the power to fire the CEO of Waterfront Toronto.

“I can’t force him to step aside,” Ford acknowledged. “All I can do is ask him to step aside. Hopefully the province and the federal government will support that.”

Shortly after Ford’s announcement, the board expressed its support for Campbell in a letter posted on its website signed by Waterfront Toronto board chairman Mark Wilson.

“John Campbell has the full confidence of the board as the president and CEO of Waterfront Toronto,” the letter read. “His collaborative approach and leadership have earned him the respect of all three governments, across multiple administrations, as well as the community and the private sector.

“Toronto city council has strongly endorsed the ongoing collaboration with Waterfront Toronto and we look forward to continuing to work together with the City on the revitalization of Toronto’s waterfront, under John’s leadership.”

Ford didn’t explain why he didn’t attend one Waterfront Toronto meeting despite having a seat on the board when he was elected. Councillor Jaye Robinson was appointed to the board more than two years after Ford took office.

As the Toronto Sun reported exclusively late Wednesday, Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong objected to Waterfront Toronto spending $600,000 — including $175,000 just on design work — for a washroom facility at the sports fields in the Port Lands.

Waterfront Toronto maintains the cost is justified given the engineering work that needed to be done before the washrooms were built on the remediated land. Because there is no sewer line along Unwin Ave., the facility also includes a “very large sanitary holding tank” to accommodate heavy usage during tournaments at the fields.

Ahead of Ford’s press conference, Waterfront Toronto issued a statement stressing it is directly accountable to two ministers: the federal finance minister and the provincial economic development, employment and infrastructure minister.

“We are certain council is aware of the unique operational oversight and control that the City of Toronto has maintained over Waterfront Toronto for the last 11 years,” Campbell stated in the press release. “All our projects are vetted by city staff and the capital plan is approved in advance by city council.”

Mayoral candidate John Tory balked at the cost of designing the washrooms.

“I simply think we have to do better at this everywhere,” Tory said. “It isn’t just about Waterfront Toronto. I want to see our waterfront done in a first-class manner that befits the only waterfront we have.

“I want to be a new sheriff that comes into City Hall and says look, I’m going to be sitting there looking at this stuff … I think the taxpayers have every reason to be frustrated.”

Mayoral candidate Olivia Chow slammed Ford’s attack on Waterfront Toronto.

“Instead of doing what mayors should, such as show up to work on time and stay all day, he attacks others when he should be focusing on improving our city,” Chow stated.

“His press conference today, using taxpayer-paid resources on public property, was nothing more than an opportunity to repeat false claims and avoid responsibility for decisions made on his watch. So it’s fitting he had a press conference about a washroom, because like John Tory, he would like to flush a billion dollars we don’t have to.”

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