Published in the Toronto Sun/Postmedia, 15 February 2023
The sudden resignation of Toronto Mayor John Tory, in the wake of his admission of an affair with a staffer, is a sign that there are still one in public office who have a sense of decency. One could certainly argue that, as it currently appears, Tory’s extracurricular activities didn’t involve any corrupt acts, just morally and ethically questionable, and thus should really only be an issue between him and his wife of 40-years-plus, Barb. I’m sure there are many French and Italian politicians who are wondering why this is a big deal. (Doesn’t everyone have something on the side?)
Given Tory’s notoriously long workdays, you do have to wonder where he found the time, but I digress.
That said, it’s refreshing to see that he’s doing the only honourable thing and resigning the mayoralty. At least he didn’t pull a Trudeau and claim that he was experiencing things differently than everyone else, or offer a pathetic apology and equally pathetic offer to sincerely make amends for breaking ethics rule, like International Trade Minister Mary No did last week. Do I need to point out that neither Trudeau, nor Ng, offered their resignations?
(Are you still going to feel the same way about Tory when he changes his mind, as it is looking like he will do?)
