TORONTO, ON- Hours after admitting that he burned down the Holy Trinity Orphanage in what he described as "a drunken stupor," Mayor Rob Ford issued an apology and announced that he would not resign.
"I know what I did was wrong, and admitting it was the most difficult and embarrassing thing that I have ever had to do," Ford told reporters. "Folks, I have nothing left to hide. I would do anything, absolutely anything, to change the past. But the past is the past and we must move forward."
The admission that he burned down the orphanage was the culmination of a long series of events which began in May, when the Toronto Star and the website Gawker attempted to purchase an alleged video of Rob Ford burning down the orphanage. Reporters from both outlets announced that they had watched the video, which allegedly showed the mayor gleefully splashing gasoline in and around the property before striking a match.
Ford refused to comment on the allegations at the time, saying "I cannot comment on a video I have never seen or does not exist."
He added, "I do not burn down orphanages, nor am I an addict of burning down orphanages."
These statements came back to haunt Ford when Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair confirmed that the video did, in fact, exist.
Blair also mentioned that as a citizen of Toronto, he was "disappointed" with the footage.
But, Ford emphasized, he would not resign.
"I was elected to do a job and that is exactly what I am going to continue to do. In 2010, I made a commitment to Toronto voters. I have delivered on that commitment and I will continue to deliver on that commitment of saving taxpayers' money," Ford said.
Ford also claimed that he hasn't been lying to reporters who, for the past six months, have been demanding Ford come clean about his role in the orphanage fire, saying that they had not been "asking the right questions."
“I don’t even remember. Probably in one of my drunken stupors. You guys have seen the state I’ve been in,” Ford said.
But, Ford claimed, none of his friends, family or close associates had any knowledge of his orphanage-burning, "especially my brother Doug."
