Daily BrewToronto taxpayers paid $18,676 for Rob Ford to lay in repose
[Procession with the casket carrying former mayor Rob Ford leaves city hall for St James Cathedral for funeral services in Toronto, March 30, 2016. REUTERS/Fred Thornhill]
By Nicole Riva
Toronto’s taxpayers didn’t foot the bill for former mayor Rob Ford’s funeral, but they did contribute $18,676 for the visitation beforehand, city staff has confirmed.
When Ford ran for mayor, one of his major platforms was stopping the “gravy train” of spending at city hall.
The biggest cost was for security at a total of $11,539 for contracted staff and overtime, director of strategic communications for the City of Toronto Jackie DeSouza said.
Hundreds of people stood in line earlier this week to say goodbye to Ford, who died from cancer last week at the age of 46. His body lay in repose at city hall for two days, including on Easter Monday when city hall would normally be closed.
The city also paid $3,140 in overtime for facilities management, $1,271 in overtime for protocol services, $1,226 for refreshments for protocol services and a $1,500 honorarium to paramedic services for the honour guard, DeSouza said.
The costs are coming from existing budgets, she said, and non-union staff or management will receive time off in lieu of overtime.
Doug Ford, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2014 when his brother bowed out of the mayoral race due to his cancer, refused to comment on the costs the city incurred. Mayor John Tory was contacted for the story.
Rob Ford didn’t have a state funeral, so taxpayers weren’t on the hook for the cost of the funeral, which filled St. James Cathedral with more than 700 mourners on Wednesday.
The massive national funeral for René Angelil on Jan. 22 reportedly cost over $700,000 and Quebec will contribute $49,000 plus the cost of photography, flowers and a registry of condolences.
Former NDP leader Jack Layton’s state funeral cost taxpayers $368,326 in 2012 and former federal finance minister Jim Flaherty’s 2014 state funeral cost more than $400,000.
