CTVNews.ca Staff
Published Thursday, May 23, 2013 12:26PM EDT
Last Updated Thursday, May 23, 2013 12:33PM EDT
Calls are continuing for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to address week-old allegations about a video in which he is reported to be shown smoking crack cocaine.
The mayor has remained largely silent on the accusations, which he called ?ridiculous? late last week.
Toronto Coun. Josh Matlow told CP24 on Thursday that the allegations against the mayor, which have made international headlines, have brought negative attention to the city.
?It doesn?t do a good service for Toronto. I hope that the mayor will come forward and just address this. Help us move forward,? Matlow said.
?We can?t force somebody to speak. That?s the mayor?s decision whether or not he?d like to. But it?s not good enough just to get your brother to go and do a press conference.?
On Wednesday, Coun. Doug Ford addressed the allegations for the first time, telling reporters that the mayor told him the allegations were ?untrue.?
?Rob?s telling me these stories are untrue, that these accusations are ridiculous,? Doug Ford said. ?And I believe him.?
He added that his brother has been subject to intense media scrutiny ever since he took office and that the mayor would not be ?pressured? into making a statement regarding the alleged video.
Toronto Coun. Ana Bailao also called on the mayor Thursday to address the allegations, saying that the scandal has been ?distracting? for councillors.
?I think Torontonians want to hear from the mayor,? she said. ?These are very, very serious allegations.
?It?s very distracting for city hall? Us councillors are making an effort to concentrate on our business, on our work. But it?s obviously distracting to have this big cloud on top of our heads and not being addressed.?
Reports of the alleged video first surfaced last week on U.S. website Gawker and later in the Toronto Star.
Both media outlets said they had viewed a video that appears to show the mayor smoking crack cocaine. The Star reporters also allege that in the video, the mayor makes offensive remarks about Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau and members of the Don Bosco Eagles -- a local high school football team he?s been coaching for years.
Ford was relieved of his coaching duties on Wednesday by the Toronto Catholic District School Board, who said it would ?pursue a different direction? with a new volunteer coach.
A board spokesperson said the decision had nothing to do with the current controversy around the alleged video.
TCDSB had been reviewing the mayor?s coaching role at Don Bosco since he made disparaging remarks about the school and its football players during a media interview in March, suggesting it was a ?tough school? where a lot of kids ?come from gangs? and ?broken homes.?
The existence and content of the video has not been authenticated by CTV News.
With files from CTV Toronto's Natalie Johnson and CP24
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