Listen to the Rob Ford tape recording
TORONTO NEWS / 'I'll fucking try to find it,' says Toronto mayoral candidate Rob Ford
Xtra / National / Monday, June 21, 2010
Share |

A dispute between mayoral hopeful Rob Ford and former supporter Dieter Doneit-Henderson turned ugly this week. Doneit-Henderson has said that Ford failed to find him a family doctor — as Ford promised to do during his gay-apology puff piece in the Toronto Star — and instead offered to get him street drugs.

The conversation, which Doneit-Henderson recorded, was obtained by Xtra.

Listen to the conversation here:




UPDATE 21 JUNE 4:40pm: In a letter published in the Sunday Star, Martin Gladstone writes about an interaction with Mayoral candidate Rob Ford. Check out Who is Martin Gladstone and Why Pride Toronto Should Act as Censor.




Share |


Reader Comments


 
Bizarre
Where does one begin....
JG, Toronto ON
06/17/10 2:47 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
transcript, please..
Come on xtra.. transcribe some of this.. google doesn't (I think) scan/index audio, so how else will Rob Ford's douche-baggery spread across the internet?
Dan, Toronto ON
06/17/10 3:55 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Lame leftists
Why don't you report on Smitherman's illegal drug use, lack of a high school diploma, or possible criminal squandering of a billion taxpayer's dollars in the ehealth scandal? Xtra! is rotten to the core. Nothing mmatters as long as it's he's gay, right lefties?
ron, Vancouver Bc
06/17/10 4:18 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
I doubt it will hurt Ford much
Much as I hate to say it I doubt this will hurt Ford's election campaign much since it can and will be spun in different ways favourable to him. Especially considering his base of support who likely see this as some "fag" setting up Ford trying to make him look bad. Ford doesn't exactly attract deep thinkers or anyone who cares about anything other than cutting services for other people.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
06/17/10 4:35 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
@Rich
I think you may be right. I do sense however that even the political right is not comfortable with him (the Sun breaking the story is odd). They may be trying to sabotage him.
JG, Toronto ON
06/17/10 5:01 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Who committed the crime
It's all very suspicious. Isn't it illegal to record a telephone conversation without telling the other person? Isn't it illegal to incite someone to commit a crime? Ford merely said, "yes, I'll try." Unless there is evidence he did try, it is only his word that he had the intention which he says he did not. So it sounds like Doneit-Henderon is the criminal here.
David, Toronto Ontario
06/17/10 7:08 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
The Sun broke the story???
I never would have guessed that JG, maybe they're not so hot on Ford after all, he is a buffoon and the sort who makes right wing politicians seem more ridiculous than usual so maybe they really don't care for him that much. I'm just dumbfounded that he's doing so well in the polls, he's the sort of guy who would make Lastman seem classy in comparison, mind you though I disagreed with Lastman and was embarrassed by him whenever he was representing us somewhere else I do believe he sincerely wanted the best for the city and I respected him in that regard especially the way he reached out to all of the communities in Toronto including ours and his participation in Pride seemed genuine and heart-felt. Ford on the other hand is not just embarrassing but a disgrace and risks setting the city even farther back in terms of transit and community services. Personally I support Pantalone but if it comes down to either Smitherman or Ford I'll hold my nose and vote for Smitherman as the lesser evil.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
06/17/10 7:50 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
no crime committed
David its not illegal to record a phone conversation as long as one person knows its being recorded and its not illegal to incite someone to commit a crime, the police do it all the time in their "Mr Big" type stings.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
06/17/10 7:52 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
@Rich
It was widely reported that the recordings have been in the hands of Xtra, Fab & The Star for two weeks and for some reason nobody broke it. What is interesting is that Ford reported the event to the police 2 weeks after he had the telephone conversation. Not the typical reaction of a person who is in fear for his family, which is how he is spinning it. I agree with you that Pantalone is probably the more solid choice and the one I am most likely to vote for, although his chances do not appear hopeful. He needs more vibility. I am however conflicted about Kyle Rae's replacement. They a had a debate and I missed it. I have no clue what their platform is, particularly as it relates to PT. Do you have any info? Information on line is scant. Cheers.
JG, Toronto ON
06/17/10 8:23 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Listen to the tape
On the tape Henderson claims that that "last time he bought drugs on the street was in 2001 with George Smitherman" In 2001 Smitherman was an MP and supposedly clean. Did Xtra approach Smitherman and ask for his comment to this allegation? None of the main stream media are reporting on this bombshell allegation.
Kevin Brown, toronto ontario
06/17/10 8:47 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
the Sun
I'm surprised that the Sun would run with this one, too. But I suppose it makes more sense if you keep in mind that they'd probably still rather have John Tory carrying their flag than Rob Ford.
Craig, Toronto Ontario
06/17/10 9:01 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
@ JG
Nope I know nothing about Kyle Rae's replacement but I live in south Etobicoke in the New Toronto area, I have no idea who is running here yet but I'll be voting against the incumbent Grimes since from what I've heard he was supportive of Mamoliti's motion to defund Pride. @Kevin it is possible he's referring to a different Smitherman but you never know and I'd like to hear what he has to say about it regardless. I'm not a big Smitherman fan but I find it hard to believe that this guy was buying drugs with him for some reason, not that I don't believe Smitherman has never used drugs of some sort but it seems unlikely to me that this guy would've been supporting Ford at all if he were a friend of Smitherman's, past or present but that's just my impression not based on much in the way of facts.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
06/17/10 9:27 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
UGH!
Dieter Doneit-Henderson is such an idiot. Woot woot for Ford
Jesse, Toronto Ontario
06/18/10 1:58 AM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
This is...
such a set-up. Dieter Doneit-Henderson comes off as an aggressive and threatening crazy man. I suspect this will result in Rob Ford getting more votes. I think it is nothing more than an shakedown and entrapment. Seriously. By the way where is the report on "buying drugs with George Smitherman" element to the story, now this is something I can get behind. An actual crime allegedly committed.
tim, toronto on
06/18/10 9:29 AM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
I don't get it...I actually like Ford!
Rob Ford actually LISTENED to the guy and said he would do what he could (legally) to help the guy. Had Ford of said "I don't give a crap, that's what you get for having AIDS", then I would be the first one picketing/protesting Ford all to hell. As a queer, I'm actually surprised just how much Ford listened to that poor man (A friend of mine has similar problems with HIV-related, Oxycotin should be given to people with cancer/HIV, PERIOD). Ford is the first politician (besides Smitherman) who actually GIVES A DAMN about the problems us gays face when trying to get pain medication. I made a solemn vow a month ago to NEVER vote for that fat F*** Ford, but I'm starting to reconsider... Hell is freezing over?
Dan, Toronto ON
06/18/10 11:46 AM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
@Dan
Ford's solution was in his words:"Why don’t you go on the street and score it?" (Ford is the one to suggest it first))He was not attempting to advocate for persons in pain who are denied medication by physicians. That would be a very commendable cause. He was instead further dehumanizing Henderson by telling him to commit an illegal act. Would he have said the same thing to a an old lady with cancer?
JG, Toronto ON
06/18/10 2:09 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Sad
The only one who comes out of this looking good is Ford. He's trying to help someone who is sick in more ways than one. I disagree with JG that Ford was "further dehumanizing" Henderson. He's already done that to himself.
Voter, Toronto ontario
06/18/10 2:22 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Homosexual drug users
The homosexual illegal drug users behind this clumsy failed set-up have disgraced all gay men in Toronto. Ford looks noble and Smitherman, whether he was behind it or not, looks like a fag Marion Barry. Way to go.
embarrassed to be gay, ... ...
06/19/10 1:47 AM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
ecenomics
We have to deal with budgets, and then prioritize spending. Spending money we don't have helps nobody in the long run. to the person who says rob doesnt attract deep thinkers should, read some books on Von Mises, and Fredrich Hayek. love him or hate him he is by far the only one that has clear direct answers, and makes any sense.
rem, toronto ontario
06/20/10 9:58 AM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
re: ecenomics
rem I agree with what you're saying but Ford isn't the person to pull that off just because he says he is. Just look at his transit plans, he wants to cancel Transit City because he doesn't like street cars and instead build subways financing them by selling air rights. There are no corridors in Toronto that have the ridership to support any new subway, even the Sheppard line which was a mistake is running only 4 care trains instead of 6 car ones because the demand isn't there, not only do subways cost 3-4 times the costs of LRT they also cost far more to operate and there's no way selling air rights will raise enough money to build a subway of an useful length but lets, for the sake of argument say it will, then we'll have a subway line with not enough riders to make it pay for itself, Ford can't do anything about that, so this new line will operate in the red, where will the money come from to subsidize this new money losing line? either it will mean slashing service on other lines or massive fare increases or massive subsidy by the city, either way we'll be paying an awful lot for something we don't need and at most get maybe one short serving a relatively small area of Toronto. Transit City on the other hand is much more financially responsible, its a fraction of the cost so many more lines can be built to benefit many more people in many more areas of the city and since they're much cheaper to operate than both subways and buses, its cheaper than buses to operate since they can hold many more times the riders resulting in the need for maybe 1/5 the drivers or less, anyways LRT won't be a financial drag on the system, they'll save the system money unlike any new subway line. Keep in mind that the reason Ford wants subways is because he doesn't take transit, he drives a car and wants transit kept off the streets and out of the way of cars. There's nothing financially responsible about that plan of his, its a plan for financial disaster if he ever gets his way.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
06/20/10 11:23 AM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
@ embarrassed to be gay
That's just a sad name you chose for yourself, it says a lot that you feel embarrassed to be gay because of the actions of another gay man. Just because not every gay man is virtuous and squeaky clean doesn't mean there's anything wrong with being gay. I think you need some counseling if you're so easily ashamed of your sexual orientation. How exactly is Ford noble for suggesting a man suffering in pain get his meds on the street instead of legally from a Dr? How is Smitherman, and keep in mind we don't know if he was referring to the same Smitherman who is running, "a fag Marion Barry" just because someone said he was with him last time he bought street drugs a long time ago? Lots of our politicians and even presidents of the US have admitted to smoking pot in the past, so what if Smitherman has done so too.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
06/20/10 11:35 AM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Obvious set-up
This makes me like Ford more because instead of telling the creep to get lost, Ford sounds legitimately concerned about his situation, treats him respectfully and tries to arrange for medical help. Dieter sounds like a crazed junkie looking to score. Ford didn't even take the bait and disparage his rival, Smitherman.
Jon, Toronto On
06/20/10 11:41 AM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Ford
Jon Dieter was in massive pain, that's why he takes Oxycontin in the first place, its pretty understandable that people in massive pain don't sound calm cool and collected and telling him to get the meds he needs off the street and offering to do so for him is not arranging for medical help. Anyways here's a link to just some of Ford's past bigoted comments directed at LGBT folks http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/Lets_get_rid_of_Rob_Ford-1968.aspx there have been many more bigoted comments from him concerning other minority groups too, that's just a sample, do you really want a bigot for mayor? Plus keep in mind that he has only one vote on council, he's got to work with the rest off council to get anything done and he's done so much to alienate himself from them I just don't see how he's going to get anyone to go along with him, he's not exactly known for his diplomacy is he. Eliminating councilor perks is fine as far as that goes but its small change compared to the massive budget of the city and will have little impact, same with cutting council in half which will only make it that much harder for citizens to be able to contact their councilor over any issue, plus his plan to cut taxes when we have a budget shortfall is just stupid, how many programs, day care spaces, public services are going to have to be cut to pay for those tax cuts? Not to mention his financially irresponsible transit plan that I talked about above, here's another link about why Ford isn't fit to be mayor http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/silver-powers/rob-ford-says-what-folks-want-to-hear/article1607509/?cid=art-rail-bureaublog anyone seriously thinking about voting for him needs to do a little more thinking about his actual policies and how they fit into reality.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
06/20/10 11:53 AM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Really Rich
Are you the same Rich that responds to every post on every article on this site? If so, your need to impose your pov on every comment is off-putting. Not everyone has to agree with you, buddy. You're free to comment, but understand that when you counter each and every post with your longwinded diatribes you are silencing debate and dissent.
Jon, Toronto ON
06/20/10 12:43 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Yes, really Rich
Yes, Rich lost his audience long ago. I wouldn't presume to say what Rich's personality disorder is, but he needs to go out into the world and relate to people.
Letitia Souterrain, Vancouver BC
06/20/10 3:42 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
re: Really Rich
I enjoy discussing politics Jon and have very few venues to do so, hence I post here a lot on political stories. I'm not trying to silence debate, I'm trying to get it going, just stating your pov isn't a debate, having a back and forth argument is. I don't respond to "each and every post", in this case only the ones claiming Ford is financially responsible, and well yours for taking what I thought was a cheap shot at Dieter for his suffering and the rest of that post, the vast majority of it, wasn't a response to anyone in particular either, it was just a general listing of the reasons I think Ford is unfit to be mayor. I was actually hoping someone would come back with some pro-Ford points or something to say the others are worse or whatever instead of just taking a shot at me personally, but that's okay, maybe they still will. I've particularly enjoyed the censorship debates because people were challenging me a lot, that's what I consider the whole point of these comments sections. Besides you don't have to read any post by me if you don't want to, I certainly don't read every one and you don't need to either.
Rich, Toronto Ontario
06/20/10 4:10 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
For the Future ?
Seems that Rich would be happy to see horses & buggies carrying people up and down the streets of Toronto rather than what most major, populated world-wide cities use - subways. Just because Rich doesn't want to see into the future, why should current politicians and indeed the people of Toronto saddle the future of this city with slow moving, traffic stopping, out in Toronto winters, barrier causing street cars. Rich, if you build something (yes, even subway lines) they will come. If Transit City is allowed to be put into place, it will cripple the movement of goods & people. Think long-term Rich, not just a year or two. As for Rob Ford, he can't win. He suggests an option for this guy to get pain killers and many gays hate him. If he had to the guy to piss off and find a way to get his own drugs, the gays would hate him. It's simply called a 'no win situation'. As for Smitherman, I'd cut my right arm off before I'd vote for him. How many multi-millions of dollars were wasted by the Provincial Liberals (under Smitherman's watch E-Health) that could have been put to use for programs to benefit people that need them ?
Jeff Taylor, Toronto Ontario
06/20/10 5:26 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
love subways but...
Jeff I love subways but I just don't believe they're realistic at this time. I also want to see transit improvement all over the city and not just along one street. Transit City won't be removing any lanes for car traffic, on most of the streets where they're planned there's plenty of space to add two dedicated lanes for LRTs, the only thing that would be lost is the grassy strip along the sides of most suburban roads and a bit of on street parking which can be replaced with Green P lots, the only place where it would take away from car lanes is on Eglinton through the centre of the city and they're going to tunnel in those areas. We can build LRT lines all over the city benefiting far more neighbourhoods in need of improved traffic or we can build one short money losing subway line benefiting relatively few people, just look at Shephard, they're still only running 4 car trains and are nowhere near capacity on those and its still operating at a loss. LRTs are in use all over the world and their benefits have been proven, they move a lot of people efficiently and they increase denser development along their lines, there's no reason to believe the same won't happen here. We simply don't have the density to justify subway lines everywhere, we're not NY or Tokyo or London. Both Yonge and Bloor/Danforth are successful subway lines because they started off as streetcar lines that built ridership and development until there was justification to build a subway, now they support the rest of the system instead of being a financial drain on it. LRT lines would increase ridership and development to the point that a subway is justified. The only subway line I think is justified at this time is the DRL, starting at Pape along King and north to Dundas W, lots of employers and condos on King and would take pressure off overcrowded Yonge. How odd that me as a leftie is arguing for financially responsible transit while right wingers want to build expensive subway lines we don't need
Rich, Toronto Ontario
06/20/10 8:41 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
A Train in the Distance
Rich, if you ever expect transit to keep up with the population growth, you have to have a clear and smart vision of and for the future. You are right that Toronto isn't NY or London, BUT one day it will be (in size that is), and we had better begin sooner than later to be ready for it. One thing is certain, in 10 to 15 short years from now, people living in the GTA will be asking themselves what we were thinking when subways that should have been built, weren't. Trust me on this one. Planning and then actually setting plans in motion has long been a major problem in Toronto. The time will come when it will be too late and expensive to go back in time and fix the bad decisions made today on transit projects that will meet the needs of Toronto well into the future. As for waiting for grown & demand to justify building a modern subway line, as they've found out in Vancouver, first build the line(s) and grow will always follow that subway line. Toronto has to get out of this bad habit of waiting, waiting and waiting and then reacting & spending to the trouble it finds itself in. Pro-active, not re-active. Pro-active seems expensive at the time, but it's never as expensive as these things turn out to be later on.
Jeff Taylor, Toronto Ontario
06/21/10 2:29 AM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Martin Gladstone is a fan of Ford
Am I the only one that noticed Martin Gladstone's letter to the Toronto Star in support of Rob Ford on Sunday? Speaks volumes.
Barry, Toronto Ontario
06/21/10 9:49 AM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Letter
Barry, I missed that letter and it is not in the on line addition, although it might be added later. If you have access to it could you reproduce it here or maybe send it to Xtra?
Curious, Toronto Ontario
06/21/10 2:07 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Ed's note
Barry, Curious: I updated the story above with the letter you mentioned from the Star. Thanks for reading.
Matt Mills, Toronto Ont
06/21/10 4:49 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
Full story and half-story
I think it should be noted that although this is a taped conversation, it is entirely one sided. We know what Mr. Ford is like, but do we know what Mr. Doneit-Henderson is like? I certainly do! I've known him for 11 years. He hasn't bought a street drug since 2001? False. With Smitherman? False. Is Dieter a danger to himself? True. Why? Because in another one of the parts of the tapes he says he "has to (overdose) himself." No one intentionally overdoses themselves, unless they know something adverse could happen. If this guy is seeking a doctor - the first one he should be given is a psychiatrist. Any General Practioner would not take this man for fear he could potentially overdose (and thus the doctor would the first person the police question) if he's on such strong painkillers. If he's an HIV+ man, his infectious diseases specialist would've referred this man to their Toronto counterpart. I would invite any of the readers here to google 'Mr. Dieter Doneit-Henderson.' This man sounds very angry and seems to be more than willing to get in photos with politicans when they serve his purpose.
Steve, Toronto ON
06/22/10 3:54 PM EST
Report this comment to moderator.
rob ford's blog
rob ford has a blog now! weird stuff : http://www.robfordmayor.com
Rob Sorbet, Toronto Ontario
07/18/10 12:07 AM EST
Report this comment to moderator.