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Courage to act?

Re Stop Enabling Ford (editorial, Nov. 7): There is a simple and eloquent way for Toronto city councillors to stop enabling the city's discredited mayor. By a unanimous or two-thirds majority vote, they could petition the provincial Legislature to enact emergency legislation removing the mayor from office until the next election. MPPs of all parties would be hard pressed to deny or delay such a consensus request.

Yes, council does not have the legal authority to unseat the mayor. But they do have the power to urge the province to do so. The question is whether they have the courage.

Greg Sorbara, Richmond Hill, Ont.

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No matter how egregious Rob Ford's behaviour, we must remember that he was elected. We interfere with an election's outcome at our democratic peril.

Jane Ferguson, Winnipeg

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What Toronto really needs is a Toronto Spring, with Nathan Phillips Square flooded by thousands of chanting demonstrators who refuse to leave until Rob Ford makes his exit.

Paul Thiessen, Vancouver

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The photo on your front page showed Rob Ford accompanying students on Take Your Kids to Work Day at city hall (Ford, Police In Talks Over Video – Nov. 7).

Mr. Ford consorts with known criminals. He has lied to us. He is the worst possible role model to give tours to impressionable students. Why is the school board allowing students to be exposed to him?

Why do we continue giving him a public, self-serving forum?

I suggest a sit-out. Every time he speaks in council, in fact every time he enters the council chambers, all councillors who oppose this farce should leave the room until he gets the message: We are tired of him, and he no longer represents us or acceptable public behaviour.

Randy Johnson, Toronto

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How long would Toronto be able to function if citizens refused to pay their property taxes unless Rob Ford resigns?

Danny Shiff, Toronto

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Armchair diagnosis

Re Our Toxic Mayor Is A Crisis For The City (Nov. 7): There is more than one politician the following excerpt could apply to: "An armchair psychologist would probably diagnose him with a narcissistic personality disorder – characterized by a nasty combination of boastfulness, entitlement, arrogant behaviour, hypersensitivity, anger issues, and an inability to recognize other people's points of view. These traits mask a deep sense of insecurity. People like this tend to blame everyone but themselves."

Give you three guesses. You may not need the last two.

John Morris, Beeton, Ont.

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Margaret Wente's amateur diagnosis of Rob Ford is on the money. But arrested development should be added to narcissistic personality disorder.Our city has essentially been run by a 15-year-old.

Wendy Fredricks, psychotherapist, Toronto

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As a recovering "crack addict," I know what a heinous drug it is.

I, like most other crack users, have experienced the destruction that the drug leaves in its wake: broken lives, broken families, business failures, people taken in their prime, and crime of all sorts. I have been blessed with a strong recovery, with the support of my family and those close to me, and for that I will be ever thankful.

Rob Ford, if for nobody else but his family, should find help and take the time to heal, and accept that he is no longer a leader.

David Evans, Calgary

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Faith, perspective

Certainly no one would condone what the mayor has confessed to, nor the fact that he denied it for so long. But the self-righteous braying for his blood by the media, politicians and citizens-turned-morality-police is unfortunate. Those who take the Bible seriously know that it is our duty to pray for our public officials.

If anyone needs prayer right now, it would be Rob Ford. A dose of encouragement would go a long way also.

Dieter P. Reda, lead pastor, Mission Baptist Church, Hamilton

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The editorial writers, columnists and letter writers who are in paroxysms over Rob Ford because he is making Toronto a "laughing stock" are the only people who think badly of Toronto.

If they believe that a single mayor, who is obviously acting well outside the normal parameters of human behaviour, let alone political behaviour, can bring down a city with centuries of storied history, then they have no faith in Toronto or its citizens.

And they have no faith in the rest of the world to see beyond this momentary circus.

Melinda Munro, Windsor, Ont.

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Compare the space given to the Rob Ford story to the small item well inside the paper: New Drilling Rules Reduce Oversight (Nov. 7). Then compare the relative impact on Canada, and in fact the world, in the long term. Shame.

Vicki Metcalfe, Ottawa

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Second thoughts

Re Senators' Suspensions Reveal Rifts In Conservative Ranks (Nov. 6): Perhaps senators Patrick Brazeau, Mike Duffy and Pamela Wallin got what they deserved, and perhaps not, but the way the matter has been handled is an affront to all Canadians.

Although senators are not elected, they are appointed as our government representatives in a house of sober second thought. They are our senators, not the Prime Minister's. If it is laughably naive to expect that senators are more than the PM's political pawns, then the whole system is rotten, and urgently needs reform – starting with the dictatorial powers invested in the Prime Minister's Office.

Henry M. Bradford, Wolfville, N.S.

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It cost $390,058 for an independent audit of Pamela Wallin's expense claims. It cost $138,784 for independent audits of the expense claims of Mike Duffy, Patrick Brazeau, and Mac Harb.

Repaying invalid expense claims isn't enough. They should also pay back the cost of auditing their claims, as well as lose their medical and insurance benefits.

Ashu Solo, Saskatoon

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To wear a poppy …

I just spent three days in downtown Toronto and I was amazed at the number of people not wearing poppies. Not just the general public, but most staff members in retail outlets and restaurants were not recognizing the sacrifices our troops have made for our country.

Corporate Canada should require employees to wear a poppy. Perhaps it is time to launch a WYP – Where's Your Poppy? – campaign. We must not forget.

Peter Boyce, Strathroy, Ont.

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As the daughter of a Second World War vet, I grew up going to Remembrance Day services with my parents, who lost friends and family on the battlefields. These soldiers went thousands of miles away to fight a war so their children and their children's children could live in a free world. We wear a red poppy because it honours those who have fallen.

Those who wear a white poppy should remember that they are able to do so because so many gave their lives to give them the freedom to do just that.

Val Stephanson, Calgary

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