Toronto mayor admits he smoked crack_美文_趣味英语-查字典英语网

Toronto mayor admits he smoked crack

A police spokesman said Ford's acknowledgment of crack use will be passed on to investigators. Several Toronto city councilors called on Ford to step down, and Canada's justice minister urged him to get help.

The controversy has drawn comparisons to the 1990 arrest of then-Washington Mayor Marion Barry, who was videotaped smoking crack cocaine in a hotel room during an FBI sting operation. Barry served six months in federal prison for misdemeanor drug possession but later won a fourth term in 1994.

Municipal law makes no provision for the mayor's forced removal from office unless he is convicted and jailed for a criminal offense.

City Councilor Denzil Minnan-Wong, a member of Ford's executive committee, said he would put forward a motion asking Ford to take a leave of absence. "My first reaction was 'Wow'," Minnan-Wong said. "He's lost the moral authority to lead."

Councilor Jaye Robinson said the mayor needs to step aside and address his problems.

"We have become a laughingstock of North America, if not the world," Robinson said.

About the broadcaster:

Nelly Min is an editor at China Daily with more than 10 years of experience as a newspaper editor and photographer. She has worked at major newspapers in the U.S., including the Los Angeles Times and the Detroit Free Press. She is also fluent in Korean.