Rob Ford vs. Toronto Star

No one puts the Star in a corner.

The country's most read newspaper, the Toronto Star, has launched a legal battle against the mayor of the country's largest city, Rob Ford, over his office's refusal to talk to reporters from the paper. The chair of TorStar, the company that owns the Star, took to the pages of his newspaper today to explain just why the Star was filing a complaint with the city's integrity commissioner. According to John Honderich, the chair:

The ban has been in place ever since Ford won the mayoral race more than a year ago. It stems from Ford’s rage over a piece the Star ran during the campaign about his conduct as a football coach.

There is no purpose served in rehashing the details. However, the Star has always stood by the story, noting it was carefully checked by our lawyer before publication.

Candidate Ford was furious and filed an immediate notice of libel, which is entirely and appropriately his prerogative. But he never followed up, as required, and his suit has now lapsed.

Mayor Ford has repeatedly said his freeze will stay in place until the Star runs an apology above the fold on page 1. As he recently told reporter Daniel Dale, “I don’t talk to the Star till you guys apologize. You guys (are) liars.”

The newspaper says Ford's office has also refused to send them announcements over upcoming news conferences, unveilings, and other such media events, leading Honderich to wonder if Ford's conduct amounts to an "abuse of power." This is decidedly not so much of a concern for the Star's chief competitor, the Toronto Sun.