Toronto Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly says he is “emphatically” opposed to asking the province to remove Mayor Rob Ford from office if he doesn’t take a leave of absence.

“We’re the sixth largest government in Canada and we’re going to go running to the province like a juvenile and ask them for help because we, as adults, can’t address this issue,” Kelly said Thursday.

Kelly was reacting to Councillor Denzil Minnan-Wong’s plan to ask city council, at its regularly scheduled meeting next week, to pass a motion petitioning the provincial government to take action.

“Extraordinary measures are needed in extraordinary times,” Minnan-Wong said. He and Kelly are both members of Ford’s executive committee.

Minnan-Wong said the mayor’s problems are escalating and he has no confidence matters will improve.” His motion will require a “large majority,” of support if the province is to act, he added.

“Council needs to deal with this, the mayor isn’t dealing with it to the satisfaction of the public and I think there is increasing intolerance from members of council, from friend and foe alike on council,” he said. He expressed hope the vote could be unanimous.

But Kelly said he will urge councillors to vote against the proposal. Kelly is working behind the scenes trying to persuade Ford to step back and he said that work will continue.

“We possess the skills and we will summon the will to look after all the problem ourselves,” Kelly said in his office at city hall.

On Thursday, Premier Kathleen Wynne wouldn’t tip her hand when asked if the province would take action on Ford if city council made a request.

She told reporters city council must deal with motions now on the table and that police are continuing with their investigation.

“We need to let those processes roll out. I have a lot of confidence in city council and in the police,” Wynne said after speaking to an infrastructure conference at the Fairmont Royal York.

There is nothing in the City of Toronto Act, which governs the city’s relationship with the provincial government, that allows for the province to intervene in the city’s affairs in the event of a scandal.

The law says only that the minister of municipal affairs can dissolve the entire council and call byelections for all seats “if city council is unable to hold a meeting for a period of 60 days because of a failure to obtain a quorum.”

The law also says a mayor’s office becomes vacant if he is absent for three consecutive months from council meetings.

Meanwhile, the city’s top civil servant weighed in on the scandal in an unusual memo to city employees on Wednesday.

“I know you are all aware of the recent media coverage regarding the Mayor,” city manager Joe Pennachetti wrote. “The situation that is unfolding is unfortunate. It has also resulted in some media reports that the City of Toronto is in crisis. This is not the case.”

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He said the “issues” had “created some distraction” but were not a reflection of the work of city staff.

“The best way for the Toronto Public Service to address this situation will be to continue our hard work and to continue to provide high quality customer service to the residents and businesses of the City.”

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