Toronto Mayor Rob Ford expects to overcome his "little challenge" with substance abuse and get back to work after a stint in rehab, his brother says.
Ford's entry to rehab came as The Globe and Mail newspaper reported it had viewed a second video of the mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine in his sister's basement early last Saturday morning.
And even as he began his treatment at an undisclosed location, another report of the mayor behaving inappropriately while intoxicated emerged.
A report written by City Hall officials said Ford turned up intoxicated at the front security office at City Hall on St Patrick's Day and threatened a guard who had reported the mayor for similar behaviour two years ago.
The City Hall report released Friday disclosed another incident on March 15. His speech slurred, Ford visited the security desk at City Hall and handed out St Patrick's Day beads. He then threatened to "get" a guard who reported that on St Patrick's Day two years ago, the mayor was walking around City Hall with "a half empty bottle of St-Remy French Brandy".
The mayor's chief of staff didn't respond to a messages seeking comment Friday.
Deputy Mayor Norm Kelly is now in charge of the city, but he had already assumed most of the powers that were stripped of Ford last year by Toronto's City Council. The scandal over Ford's crack use started last May when news reports emerged of a first video showing him smoking the drug. After police said they had obtained that video, Ford admitted that he had used the drug in a "drunken stupor."
Although Ford has not abandoned his bid to seek a second term in October elections, the revelation of a second crack video raised scepticism about his chances of prevailing. His decision to seek treatment comes months after he announced he was finished with alcohol - only to have steady reports of more drunken behaviour emerge.
The mayor of Canada's largest city announced he was taking a leave of absence and checked into rehab Thursday, a day after reports emerged of a second video that appears to show Ford puffing from a crack pipe.
Rob Ford's brother, Doug Ford, said the mayor was on a path toward recovery.
"He's in a good place. Everything is fine. He's going to get over this little challenge and get back to business," Doug Ford told The Associated Press.
Doug Ford, a city councilor who is also his brother's re-election campaign manager, said he has been in touch with the mayor, but declined to say where he was being treated, or how long he would stay there.
Rob Ford was elected four years ago on a wave of support from Toronto's suburbs, galvanising conservative voters with promises to slash spending, keep taxes low and end what he called "the war on the car".
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