Reasons to Love Toronto 2014: #18. Because Carol Wilding Had the Guts to Call Ford Out

What a relief it was, then, to see one of our civic leaders break from the horde and call the mayor out on his idiotic ways. After police confirmed the crack video’s existence, Carol ­Wilding, head of the Toronto Region Board of Trade, issued a statement asking the mayor to take a leave of absence. Seldom has a Board of Trade announcement generated so much media ­attention—­evidence that Wilding was filling an obvious void. Predictably, the mayor’s chief henchman, brother Doug, attacked Wilding’s credibility, saying she wasn’t in touch with 90 per cent of her membership. Wilding was unfazed.

In another bold move, she refused to invite the mayor to the board’s annual dinner—a gathering of 1,500 businesspeople and regional politicians. Ford showed up anyway. Rather than shifting seats around to accommodate the unexpected guest, board staffers placed him at a remote back table, next to the exit. And when Wilding stood up to deliver her opening address, she didn’t hold back. She castigated a squirming Ford for his lack of leadership and the shameful behaviour that had consumed city hall. Her address amounted to a public intervention. And with that, the chastened Ford, perhaps momentarily grateful for the ­second-class seating, quietly slipped out, leaving his free meal untouched.