To Queen’s Park, Norm Kelly is king.

As far as the provincial government is concerned the deputy mayor is now in charge at Toronto city hall, says Municipal Affairs Minister Linda Jeffrey.

“Logistically, based on the decision they made yesterday, it would be Norm Kelly,” Jeffrey said Tuesday, referring to city council stripping Mayor Rob Ford of most of his power and his staff in the wake of the crack scandal.

That means when Premier Kathleen Wynne sits down with the city’s point person on issues as varied as subways and the Pan Am Games, Kelly would receive the invitation.

“Council made some decisions yesterday in another special meeting that provide clarity for them,” the minister told reporters

Asked if Ford would be allowed to attend official events, Jeffrey said: “Absolutely, he’s always welcome. I like all members of council. I’m happy to work with all of them.”

But sources close to Wynne confide it is unlikely the premier would ever again share a stage with the mayor. Last week, she offered councillors “new tools” to sideline Ford if they wanted them and enjoys the backing of Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak to do so.

Jeffrey shrugged off Ford’s declaration of “war” against the councillors who systematically took away his authority at an extraordinary meeting Monday and his threat — repeated Tuesday on CP24 — to sue the city.

“I’m not worried. Everyone has an opportunity to speak to legal counsel about decisions they think are fair or not fair. I guess the coming weeks will determine whether any action is taking place,” the minister said, adding council acted lawfully.

“Based on the advice I have received they took actions that were within their control . . . . They took steps that were part of their delegation of power. They took measures that they felt were reasonable.”

Despite the apparent resolution, Jeffrey said the entire debacle has not been pretty.

“I don’t think anyone would believe that what’s been happening over the last few weeks are necessarily a good outcome. Council looked to the tools that they had at their disposal.”

NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said it’s only right the province deal with the deputy mayor because that’s what council wanted.

“If Mr. Kelly is now the person who is the head action person when it comes to city of Toronto decision-making . . . then that’s the appropriate thing to do,” said Horwath.

Hudak, meanwhile, expressed exasperation that the ongoing Ford saga is distracting from important work that should be done at Queen’s Park to boost the economy and create jobs.

“Respectfully, I also have a broader job to do and if I spend all of my time responding to the latest developments at city hall, there are other issues that aren’t going to be addressed in the legislature,” he said.

However, the PC leader wouldn’t rule out the mayor’s brother, Councillor Doug Ford, running for the Tories in a provincial election expected next spring.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“My answer on these questions hasn’t changed. The party has a process for determining who candidates will be. We don’t know when the election is going to be,” said Hudak.

“But look, a lot has happened in the last few weeks and I suspect a lot more is going to happen in the weeks ahead. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

The Tories — on a state of election readiness since last spring with nominated candidates in most of Ontario’s 107 ridings — have kept Etobicoke North, long-held by Liberal MPP Shafiq Qaadri, open for Doug Ford.