During a chaotic debate Toronto’s City Council has voted to strip controversial Mayor Rob Ford of most of his powers. <br /><br />As an angry Ford got into verbal exchanges with gallery spectators he collided with one councillor, nearly knocking her over.<br /><br />Ford is refusing to resign despite being under fire after admitting to smoking crack cocaine, buying illegal drugs and drink driving.<br /><br />City Council critic John Parker said after the vote: “I hope it sets a precedent for any future mayor that, if they carry on the way this mayor has, they can expect similar treatment.”<br /><br />Mayor Rob Ford responded to council’s sanctions by declaring he would fight the move: “This is nothing more…than a coup d’etat. And if you don’t know what a coup d’etat means, it means that you are overruling a government and some people said this is democracy. What’s happening here today is not a democratic process, it is a dictatorship process.”<br /><br />Rob Ford is a polarising figure in Canada’s largest city – his mainly working class supporters see him has their champion while his more well-heeled liberal opponents regard him as an embarrassment.<br /><br />Toronto’s council is unable to remove him from office according to provincial law.
