10.25.2011 09:39 AM

Ford v. CBC

I don’t support Rob Ford, and I do support the CBC.  But this after-dark ambush by CBC – particularly with children involved – was dumb, dumb, dumb.

They owe the Ford family an apology.

(And it isn’t the first time they’ve done dumb stuff like this.)

44 Comments

  1. Jon Powers says:

    Well said. Someone should tell Mary Walsh she isn’t very funny. I remember when the same show tried something similar with Dalton McGuinty, and NDPer Peter Kormos gave them a tongue lashing for making light of a situation where hundreds of people got laid off. Now that was funny. Also, can someone send a memo to 22 minutes informing them that The Warrior Princess is so 11 years ago.

    • Philip says:

      Oh crap. I completely agree with your take on Walsh’s Warrior Princess character. Whatever laughs there had been (and there wasn’t many) pretty got sucked out of that shtick a decade ago. Calling the cops on a camera crew and an obviously in character Walsh was a little over the top. But you aren’t going to get a lot of subtlety with Mayor Tommy Boy.

      • John says:

        “Calling the cops on a camera crew and an obviously in character Walsh was a little over the top.”

        Over the top?? Not really. You don’t do something like this at the guy’s home. If you want to pull a stunt like this at his office, be my guest… but stay away from his private residence and his family.

        I’m glad he called the cops.

        • Philip says:

          I agree with you John, doing the bit at his home wasn’t appropriate. No question. But Mayor Ford’s response was definitely OTT.
          Mayor Ford called the cops after he had scuttled back into his house. In fairness his first call could have been to his mum.
          An adult may have handled the situation in a different way. Looking past the tiresome Walsh/Warrior Princess directly into the camera to ask the CBC crew to respect his familiy’s privacy and safety would have been a better way. The more Walsh yelled and capered about, the more the Mayor could been calm and reasonable. Not only would he have completely gutted the sketch but he would have alot of sympathy and respect.

          Instead Mayor Ford defaulted to petulant child mode. Instead of respect and even sympathy, people are laughing at him.

  2. Carman says:

    The ambush could be characterized a number of ways, but judging from the video (http://bit.ly/vDTHdp) I think “after-dark” might be a bit of a stretch.

  3. Ed says:

    I sympathize with the mayor. I can’t imagine how mad I’d be once I figured out it was all a joke too. What angers me the most is the narrative that’s been developed by some that he’s to blame for being a poor sport (see BlogTO). I’m glad you posted this. NP deserves credit too.

  4. Brad Armitage says:

    I did post production on the show last night and from what I saw it wasn’t dark and there was no child in sight,

  5. WDM says:

    Agreed entirely. Showing at someone’s house, with their kids around, crosses the line.

  6. Disgruntled Frmr Con, now Happy Lib says:

    If Rob Ford occassionally tuned in to the CBC or read a book even, perhaps he would have had a clue that the person heading towards him was Mary Walsh, aka, the Warrior Princess…..and that he and his family were in no danger whatsoever……

    Jeez I wonder what Mr. Ford`s reaction would be if he ran into Rick Mercer in a steam bath……

  7. Is 22 minutes still on the air? I thought it jumped the shark after Rick Mercer left the show.

  8. billg says:

    Any one who defends this or justify’s this is seriously bent.
    He has an office and he gives press conferences….stay the hell away from his home and his family.
    That goes for every Mayor and Premier as well….just plain stupid and hateful.

  9. Rob says:

    I agree, coming to someone’s private home is too much. Scaring someone’s children is also not cool. However, it was not after dark. The video proves it.

  10. Tim L. says:

    22 Minutes, Air Farce, those Just for Laughs skits…CBC has some of the lamest “comedy” out there. Now Mary Walsh and the camera crew chased off the property by dobermans?…THAT would be funny.

  11. CraigD says:

    Well said indeed, but perhaps you are being too kind. I think it was disgraceful conduct and they should all be deeply ashamed of themselves. What sort of people scare a very young child and then seem to be proud of it? You really have to wonder what the thought process was on the scene. Any decent person, let alone supposed professional broadcasters, upon seeing the 6 year old from the van would have said “oops there is a kid with him! Abort operation!.”. Even if we give them the benefit of the doubt that they didn’t see the child from the van, they would have had to have seen her run back in the house and, again the decent thing would have been to explain and apologize and go on their way. What they did do is go ahead with their lame and very old “ambush” routine and then proceed to crow about it on CBC.ca\22 Minutes and Facebook. As pointed out this was not the first time. The time they ambushed McGuinty 100s of people were losing their jobs. The best you can say is the 22 Minutes cast and crew don’t seem like very nice people. Worse than that they are not funny now and never really were.

  12. Pedro says:

    No matter!
    Children or not, Ford and his supporters are wrong and most likely harm small children after whooping it up on mind-numbing, fiscal-sanity nonsense!
    What kind of society would allow such a thing?!
    The pursuit of humour based on the belittling of an opposing viewpoint is at the foundation of what we wish to call Canada.
    May no one say otherwise!
    Marg Delahunty can only have what is best for Canadians in those armoured breasts!
    The socially connected voters of today know this as a fact!

  13. Outsider says:

    Good lord – if you scrunch your eyes up a bit while watching the somewhat-more-dishevelled-than-usual Ford address the media, you will swear it is … Archie Bunker!

  14. ASME says:

    Isn’t it wonderful how people can make excuses for people in the public domain who are nothing but crass.

  15. steve says:

    This is a tempest in a tea pot, anyone with an IQ over 14 would know there was no danger. So Fords first instinct should have been to protect his child (if there was one there), by laughing even if inside your furious. CBC was wrong to ambush him at home, but he handled it like a 6 year old.

    Warren the right wing media is bovaiting about the Mississauga Power Plant. I guess its complicated to shut down something due to lawsuits etc. Let me suggest a solution that will satisfy all but the most partisan. Convert this infrastructural to burn Hydrogen. First cost is really not a consideration, there is a Billion dollars on the table, and the capacity is needed. Secondly using excess electricity from windmills etc will always be a sore point if it is not utilized. So in off hours, when the wind is blowing, when the sun is shining create hydrogen, then burn it using all the existing plant.(no fuel cells) No emissions, no misleading press about Ontario paying US to take power, no press about paying windmills not to produce, etc etc. Furthermore its a model to sell worldwide. Whatever they are called now call Stuart Energy.

  16. smelter rat says:

    I hope someone lets Mr. Ford know that this coming Monday, all sorts of weirdly dressed people will be coming to his house making demands and threatening to play tricks.

  17. Hasn’t Rob Ford been on the CBC for years, already? I had assumed he was the voice behind Howard Chackowicz on Wiretap!

  18. steve says:

    Hi Warren,
    Frank KLees,I smell a rat. If the Liberals have a majority they are going to own everything in very tough times. Hudak knows even with a minority McGinty is likely to pull a Harper and move forward regardless. So it’s a clever play by the Conservatives to make the Liberals take ownership. The question is will McGinty fall for it?

  19. pcase says:

    https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10150884269610321
    No kid – not dark. Not a great idea to be at his house, I’ll give you that. Ford could of been a little more of a sport.
    And, after al that, she (Marg) actually makes a very good joke/point!

  20. Ted says:

    I don’t like that ambush thing they do. While we all could use a little more humour and levity in our lives, there is real and serious work being done that they are disrupting or distracting from. The McGuinty example being perhaps the worst example of this kind of interference.

    And an early morning call at the Mayor’s home? Not classy. Or funny.

    At the same time, I have to ask, why call 9-1-1? That is more than a little excessive, bordering on abusive. There was no emergency. By the time Ford got to the phone, inside his house, it would have been clear to him that he was in no danger and that it was just a camera crew.

    Why not just a call to the police? I guess when you think people should make 9-1-1 emergency calls when they see graffiti, we shouldn’t be surprised, but this was excessive conduct from a mayor of all people in response to what amounts to an extreme annoyance.

  21. Wannabeapiper says:

    Jeeeeze, our Mayor even opposed the Shark Fin ban. So in my view, let him have it, but leave his family out of it, he’s not their fault.

  22. TED PAUL says:

    Do you think a publicly funded Fox News would ambush a Democrat taking his 6 year old kid to School?
    Do you think the funding would last if they did?

  23. patrick deberg says:

    I saw the part and Warren you’re wrong. He knew who she was, it wasn’t dark. He’s just looking to spread a little payback. He’s in 2nd place as most hated mayor in Canada. That’s why he went on about the evil ambush

  24. TDotRome says:

    Geez, some of you are going on like she was an actual warrior with a real sword!

    Anyone remember the link WK posted a few months ago about neo-cons being thin-skinnned and overly sensitive? This is a ‘Grade A’ example of that!

    “Boohoo, I”m so sad and afraid! A fat old lady with a plastic sword and a costume, a week from Halloween, came up to me with a microphone and a camera, something I’m not used to, at all. Sniff, sniff. An-and, then, then it was dark and stuff, and, umm, my little girl was there, and uhh……she was crrryyyyyyinnnnngggg!!! Waaaaahhhhhhh!!!!!”

    Give me a break. Mary Walsh has been doing this for years (and who cares if any individual likes the skit of not……..lots of people still do), and Ford is the first one to call the police………”Umm, hello, 911? Yes, uh, hi. The CBC is in front of my house……….Is anyone hurt? Yes, I am, my sense of duty to conservatism is wounded because of their presence…………..Oh, physically? Not really, but………..this is an emergency!!!……….you have to do what I say, I’m the Mayor!!!…………you hear that all the time? Oh. Well, this time it’s true!!!………….hello? hello? hello?………..flippin’ police! Blair’s gonna have to cut 20 percent now!”

    • Disgruntled Frmr Con, now Happy Lib says:

      Actually the call went like this: Sources say Ford turned on the dispatcher, yelling: “You…bitches! Don’t you f–king know? I’m Rob f–king Ford, the mayor of this city!”

  25. Disgruntled Frmr Con, now Happy Lib says:

    Stay classy Mr. Ford!….

  26. Margreta says:

    Sure, supported Harper like … Income Trust? Sorry, Smilin’ Jack is your man on who fluffed Harper through his minority.

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