Toronto Mayor Rob Ford arrives at his City Hall office on April 1, 2014.FRED LUM/The Globe and Mail
After raising eyebrows for speaking to a journalist while on a leave to seek help for his addiction issues, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford gave another media interview insisting he is undergoing treatment in a facility that costs as much as six figures.
"It's worth every dime, every dime," he told the Toronto Sun. "A hundred grand is cheap. It's a steal."
Mr. Ford's two interviews to the Sun come amid mounting questions about the sincerity of his claim that he is getting professional help.
The Globe reported on Tuesday that Mr. Ford did not enter the United States after boarding a private jet bound for Chicago last week after taking an unspecified leave to "seek immediate help" for his "problem with alcohol." Last week, the newspaper published photographs from a video that appears to show the mayor smoking crack cocaine in his sister's basement.
After reports of a possible sighting of Mr. Ford at a Tim Hortons in Toronto on Tuesday morning, his brother and campaign manager, Doug Ford, said on Wednesday that the mayor had gone outside Toronto to seek help.
The Sun reported that the mayor described the coffee shop report as "funny" and insisted he is undergoing treatment at a rehab centre without providing further details.
Mr. Ford also said he got in trouble for speaking to the Sun and couldn't talk to the newspaper again.
"There's just a policy you're not allowed to speak to the media in these programs. I didn't know about that," he told the Sun on Wednesday. "They weren't too happy."
On Tuesday, Mr. Ford told the paper that "rehab is amazing. It reminds me of football camp." He also said he was making calls to his constituents.
Jill Mahoney