Councillor Doug Ford defends brother Mayor Rob Ford, May 21, 2013

Photo by: Kevin Misener/680News

Media outside mayor's office at City Hall, May 22, 2013

Photo by: Charlene Close/680News

TORONTO – TORONTO – Toronto councillor Doug Ford said his brother Mayor Rob Ford is an honest man and the allegations against him are untrue.

“Rob is telling me these stories are untrue, that these accusations are ridiculous and I believe him,” he said.

“He has already addressed these allegations three times on Friday,” he said. “I don’t know how much more he can say.”

The mayor is facing allegations he was caught on video smoking crack cocaine. The mayor has called the allegations “ridiculous.”

Councillor Ford is also telling the media to stop harassing members of his family, saying never before has a mayor been so zealously targeted.

Earlier on Wednesday, Toronto deputy mayor Doug Holyday had urged the mayor to speak out about an alleged video reportedly showing him using drugs.

Holyday told reporters that although it’s been a rocky two years, he still supports the mayor. However, he said the allegations are so serious that the mayor has to clearly state his position.

“I think the mayor has to come out and speak to the media. I don’t know when that’s going to take place, but I believe it has to happen, and it will shortly, I think,” Holyday said.

“Until he does that, it won’t go away, and it might not go away then, but at least people will have a choice of what to believe. [If] he doesn’t defend himself and doesn’t come out and say something, then they’re left with what the Toronto Star says and that may or may not be right,” he added.

Holyday also added that Ford hasn’t said much to him either, but that he’s been told that Ford’s lawyers have advised the mayor not to comment.

He also said he is not suggesting that Ford step down, but said if the mayor has to take a leave of absence he’ll be ready to take over.

He also said it’s unfortunate that this latest issue may be marring Toronto’s reputation.

This latest scandal has made international headlines, and Ford was also mocked by three late-night talk show hosts in the U.S.

Ford made a brief comment last Friday in which he said the allegations were “ridiculous.”

The scandal was mentioned by comedians Jimmy Kimmel, Jay Leno, and Jon Stewart Tuesday night.

“Don’t judge him — maybe he’s cleaning up the city by smoking all the crack in it,” Stewart said on “The Daily Show.”

Watch the video from “The Daily Show” below:

On “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” a Ford look-alike appeared on his show via Skype, and Kimmel asked him, “are you saying that that was not you?”

“I didn’t say anything … these people are pathological liars, eh?,” the look-alike said.

Watch the video from “Jimmy Kimmel Live” below:

Leno took a shot at Toronto and said, “but to be fair, there’s not a lot to do in Toronto.

Ford made a brief comment last Friday in which he said the allegations were “ridiculous.” He hasn’t commented further on the allegations since then.

Gawker has raised more than half of the $200,000 it’s been trying to crowd-source to buy the alleged video and then release it publicly.

City council rejected a proposed downtown casino for the city and expansion at Woodbine Racetrack Tuesday.

Mayor Rob Ford called the issue “dead” last week at an impromptu news conference and cancelled a special meeting to consider the proposal, which was later reinstated by a group of councillors.

After debating the issue, council voted 40-4 against the proposal.

The mayor tried to convince council to allow expansion of gaming at Woodbine, but that motion was also defeated 31-13.

Coun. Mike Layton says he and his colleagues voted against a casino after hearing from constituents.

“The people of Toronto have spoken here. Councillors were being pressured by their constituents, by the people of Toronto to vote no.”

“I think that’s why you see that 40-4 vote at the end of day with council sending a strong note to the province: we don’t want casino expansion in the city of Toronto.”

Coun. Giorgio Mammoliti says the city just blew a chance to make money and now it will have to raise taxes.

“That’s what happened today. I think it’s a shame. I think it’s a concerted effort by some councillors to hijack council.”

During the debate, Ford accused Premier Kathleen Wynne of being opposed to a Toronto casino and the jobs it would bring.

“I don’t know why the premier does not support 10,000 good-paying, union jobs,” he said.

“No deal is good enough for this premier. Fact is, she simply doesn’t want a casino — at least not in Toronto.”

Ford slammed Wynne, accusing her of sabotaging casino plans by offering an Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. hosting fee of $39-million a year versus the $100-million the city wanted.

“It’s becoming crystal clear that this will never happen under the leadership of premier Wynne.”

But Wynne said she’s maintained from the beginning that every municipality should be treated the same when it comes to revenue sharing from casinos.

The decision to host a casino is “rightly in the hands of municipalities,” she said.

“I don’t think this is a personal debate between me and any other politician in the province,” Wynne said.

“I think this is about a principle — which is, municipalities should be able to make this decision.”

Wynne asked OLG to revise their funding formula in March after reports surfaced it was offering a special deal to Toronto that would see the city collect $100 million in hosting fees.

But the government’s refusal to divulge the formula last week sparked an angry Ford to denounce the Liberals for spoiling plans for a casino.

Wynne fired OLG chairman Paul Godfrey later that day, prompting the entire board of directors to resign.

Godfrey has said he wasn’t given a reason for his dismissal, but Wynne told him the government was “going in a different direction.”

Wynne said Tuesday that there were “critical” points of divergence.

They included the “fairness” of a casino formula to ensure Toronto didn’t get a special deal, she said. They also differed on the integration of the horse-racing industry — which was devastated after OLG ended the slots-at-racetracks program — into the corporation’s modernization strategy.

As for the video allegedly showing the mayor using drugs, Ford refused to talk about it.

680News reporter Kevin Misener and CityNews reporter Cynthia Mulligan were at City Hall covering the story. Read a re-cap of their live tweets below:

Outside his Etobicoke home on Friday morning, Ford spoke to a group of waiting reporters, saying “Absolutely not true…it’s ridiculous.”

He then shook his head, got into his vehicle and drove away.

On Friday, reporters at The Toronto Star said they have seen a video that appears to show Ford using drugs.

In its report, the Star said two of its reporters had watched the video on May 3 that it said showed an intoxicated Ford in a room, sitting in a chair, and lighting and smoking from what appeared to be a glass crack pipe.

U.S-based gossip website Gawker.com said Thursday night that the video is being shopped around by a group of men allegedly involved in the drug trade.

The Toronto Star said, however, it had no way to verify the video.

Deputy mayor Doug Holyday said he does not believe the shocking published reports.

“Videos can be altered and drug dealers can’t be trusted. I don’t know what we’re dealing with here and until we do I don’t really have much to say,” Holyday said at city hall Friday.

“I have not seen any indication of him using any substances like this or anything else for that matter,” he later added.

It’s just the latest in a series of scandals plaguing Ford’s administration that have distracted from issues like public transit, the expansion of Porter airlines and a now-quashed downtown casino.

In March, the Star reported that Ford was asked to leave the Garrison Ball at the Liberty Grand at Exhibition Place because he appeared to be impaired. Earlier that month, former mayoral candidate Sarah Thomson alleged Ford made inappropriate comments towards her and then grabbed her buttocks – both of which Ford adamantly denies.

Meanwhile, Holyday also told reporters Friday morning that he believes the mayor is fit for the job but, “if these accusations were substantiated, that would change a lot of things.”

“I have no knowledge, I have not seen any indication of him using any substances like this or anything else for that matter,” Holyday said.

The Star said Friday it had seen the tape on May 3 but the paper waited to publish the story.

The Star said two of its reporters watched the video and said it appears to show Ford in a room, sitting in a chair and using drugs.

The Star also alleges Ford makes several disparaging and crude remarks about Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and the high school football team he coaches.

A lawyer retained by Ford, Dennis Morris, told the newspaper that Thursday’s publication by the Gawker website of some details related to the video were “false and defamatory.”

Holyday was also asked whether he thinks these recent allegations will hurt the city’s reputation.

“It certainly isn’t helpful [to the city's reputation]. Whether you can blame the mayor or not depends on whether the story is true. I don’t know that and I don’t know that many of you do,” he said.

“There’s a large contingent of political people that want the mayor out of office. They don’t want him to make the changes that he’s been making. I agree with the changes that he’s been making and the agenda he’s put forward.”

Attempts by 680News to contact the mayor and his staff for comment on the allegations were unsuccessful.

With files from The Canadian Press

“There’s the biggest employers, the casinos, here in the Niagara Region,” says Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati.

When the casino was first introduced the city was going through some difficult times, according to Diodati.

“By and large, they’re good paying jobs, there (are) some very good paying jobs for upper management,” Diodati said. “But overall it has definitely been a positive in our community in terms of job creation.”

Wayne Thomson, a Niagara Falls councillor who was mayor when a casino was given the green light, through a referendum, says they also faced a strong anti-casino lobbying group.

“(In the end we had) 64 per cent of the people say they wanted a casino in Niagara Falls,” Thomson said.

At the time of the vote, Thomson says the tourism industry and floundering, industry was leaving the city and the recession was taking a toll.

The casino then brought in both money and jobs.

“The economic benefit to this area, created thousands of more jobs,” Thomson said.

Some of those in opposition of a casino have said the negative social impact would be great. Diodati however says steps can be taken to lessen this impact.

“Invest money into policing, to make sure there weren’t going to be any kind of activities that are sometimes associated with gambling,” Diodati said.

Both the former and current mayor said the positives from the casino have outweighed any negatives.

City manager Joe Pennachetti released the report Monday, saying it is only meant to inform council’s decision.

Click here to read the full city manager’s report.

He gave two options — either they should say no to a casino or move ahead with a conditional yes.

Pennachetti said whether Toronto says yes or no, there will be a casino in the Greater Toronto Area and the city will be impacted.

The report says if there is a downtown casino the minimum hosting fee the city should get is $100-million.

Coun. Adam Vaughan said the numbers do not add up.

“The only gravy train running in this city anymore is one going straight to Las Vegas and with these numbers, it might as well be gold plated. I mean, it’s absurd.”

Vaughan said one of the recommendations in the report — a 50-50 hosting fee split between the city and the province — has already been shot down.

“And we’re going to get a hosting fee 10 times higher than any other town in Ontario. It’s just nonsense. These are hypothetical projections, based on a set of fantasy numbers.”

Coun. Janet Davis said they still need to know more details on what the OLG would offer the city.

“Telling us now whether or not they accept the conditions laid out by the city manager.”

The report does not say which way the city should roll the dice but outlines 43 conditions if council says yes to a casino.

Many are saying the city should put off any decision until more questions are answered.

“We welcome the views contained in the Toronto city manager’s report,” Rod Phillips, president and CEO of OLG said in a statement.

“OLG is currently reviewing the Municipality Contribution Agreement to ensure the principles of fairness and equal treatment govern this formula, which will be the same for all host communities across the province.”

Prior to the release of the report, Mayor Rob Ford penned an open letter touting the economic benefits of having a casino in Toronto.

But Coun. Mike Layton said the city manager’s report does not paint a true picture.

“The fact is this is a fictional report that doesn’t have any real substantive numbers in it.”

The city manager said a downtown casino or at the Canadian National Exhibition would add about $1-billion to the city’s annual GDP.

But the president of the CNE said a casino would destroy them.

“We can’t survive on the grounds with a massive casino.”

Meanwhile, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said it would create as many as 11,000 construction jobs.

“That’s on top of the 10,000 permanent jobs, folks,” Ford said. “That’s great news for Toronto and Ontario.”

The executive committee will discuss the report next week.

The report will be considered by the executive committee at its meeting next week.

Council will vote on whether to proceed with a casino at the special meeting in May.