Rob Fordâs mother and sister say the mayorâs drug and alcohol use is ânot acceptable behaviour,â but insisted that heâs not an addict and will survive the scandal thatâs making international headlines.
âRobbieâs not a drug addict,â the mayorâs sister, Kathy Ford, told CP24's Stephen LeDrew Thursday in an interview at her mother Diane Fordâs Etobicoke home.
âI know because Iâm a former addict â or an addict if youâd want to say,â she said, adding that the mayor âcouldnât functionâ if he were addicted.
âIf you want to consider binge drinking once every three months and you get totally plastered, which he just makes a fool out of himselfâŚfine,â Kathy said.
She said her brother âdoes not drink every night,â but when he does consume alcohol, he goes âfull tilt.â
Fordâs mother and sister were speaking out for the first time since the mayor admitted to smoking crack cocaine in a âdrunken stuporâ about a year ago.
On Thursday, swearing and talking about killing someone was posted by The Toronto Star. Ford told reporters that he was "extremely inebriated" at the time.
âItâs not acceptable behaviour. Heâs the mayor of the city,â his mother told CP24.
Later in the interview, Diane Ford said her son does have a problem -- but not a drug problem.
âHeâs got a weight problem,â she said, adding that the mayorâs size affects his demeanour.
âHeâs got a huge weight problem and he knows that. And I think that is the first thing he has to attack.â
Diane Ford said she held a family meeting at her home last week, after Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair told reporters that police have recovered a video allegedly showing the mayor smoking crack.
The existence of that video was first reported by The Toronto Star and U.S. website Gawker in May.
âHe talked, we listened. I talked, they listened,â Diane said of the family meeting.
âAnd we all had our say. It was a real outpouring of feelings.â
Diane said she didnât tell her son to âshape up or ship out,â but she told him to get a driver, do something about his weight, get an alcohol detector in his car and watch the company heâs keeping.
She also told Ford to see a counsellor or a psychologist to get help.
âI think he will do that, absolutely he will,â she said.
âIf he was really, really in dire straitsâŚI would be the first one, Iâd put him in my car and I would be taking himâŚHe isnât there.â
Diane also said Fordâs accomplishments have been overlooked in the wake of the ongoing scandal.
âItâs just so hurtful to the family and itâs just so hurtful to me as a mother.â
She said everyone knows that Ford has hurt himself, and that heâs just human â âa little too human.
âBut thereâs nothing that he canât recover from.â