TORONTO -- Toronto's trouble-prone mayor should take his cues from what city council is telling him after they passed two motions to limit his powers, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne said Friday.
"I think what's happening at city hall right now is very fluid," she said from a premiers' conference in Toronto.
"I think that the mayor needs to pay very close attention to the messages that he's getting from councillors. And my hope is that he would take his lead from their advice."
The vast majority of city councillors approved motions to strip Mayor Rob Ford of his ability to appoint key committee chairs and his emergency powers. A third motion to be debated Monday would see his office essentially moved to the control of the deputy mayor.
Ford, who's drawn international attention since admitting to smoking crack cocaine while in office, has stubbornly refused to step down or take a leave of absence. He said he'll take legal action to challenge the council's unprecedented move.
Current municipal law makes no provision for the mayor's forced removal from office unless he's convicted and jailed for a criminal offence or misses three months of meetings without permission from council.
Council's actions are a sign that there's no immediate need for the provincial government to intervene, Wynne said.
"I see that city council is making decisions and they are determined -- from what I've heard some of them say and what's evident from their actions today -- they're determined to find a way to make city council work," she said.
Council would have to make it clear that it couldn't function due to the Ford scandal before the province would consider taking action, she said.
The firestorm engulfing the mayor shows no signs of abating.
Demands for Ford to step aside have grown louder after he admitted to buying illegal drugs while serving as mayor, confirmed he had driven drunk and denied allegations he consorted with alleged prostitutes, calling it an outright lie.
The sideshow took an even more bizarre turn Thursday when Ford made shockingly lewd remarks on live TV, then refused to say sorry. He finally apologized and begged the media to give his family privacy with his wife by his side.
The avid football fan was also rebuked by the Toronto Argonauts, who said they were "disappointed" at his use of coarse language while wearing the CFL team's jersey.
