Chow says Tory would be ‘lame duck mayor’ due to various conflicts

Toronto, Olivia Chow says John Tory’s business interests could force him to declare a conflict of interest on a number of key issues facing the city, making him a “lame duck mayor.”
Chow made the comment in the wake of a Toronto Star report that revealed that Tory’s son, John A.D. Tory, is the CEO of Private Air Inc. and has lobbied several councillors and Mayor Rob Ford in favour of the controversial expansion of the Billy Bishop Airport.
The apparent conflict, Chow said, is one of several Tory would have if elected mayor, given that the former radio host also sits on the board for Rogers, Metro and restaurant and catering behemoth Cara Operations Limited.

“Either we have a mayor who is in conflict or we have a lame duck mayor who can’t participate in major decisions. Either way the citizens of this city would lose,” Chow said. “He would not be able to provide any leadership, he would not be able to talk to his executive committee and he would not be able to talk to staff or give any directions.”
Federal and provincial cabinet ministers must put their stock holdings in a blind trust to prevent any possible conflicts, however there is no such stipulation for the mayor of Toronto.
Tory has previously said that he would resign from the board of Rogers if elected, though he has not commented on whether he would recuse himself from any discussion on the expansion of Billy Bishop Airport.
Asked about the apparent conflicts highlighted by Chow as he accepted an endorsement from former mayor Art Eggleton on Friday, Tory promised to “follow all the rules.”
“Look, she is only indicating a list of things that I do that would be indicative of a busy, engaged citizen but if I am elected mayor, which I hope to be on Oct. 27, I will follow all the rules,” he said.
Chow, meanwhile, told reporters that promising to look at the alleged conflicts if elected isn’t good enough and said that Tory should do that now so voters can take it into consideration.
“I think it is important that he is very clear on what he would do,” Chow said.