The media was in a “feeding frenzy” over comments Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman made that could jeopardize Toronto’s bid for the 2008 Olympic Summer Games.
While in Barcelona on a European tour to boost Toronto’s Olympic bid, the Mayor was being interviewed on another topic when he told a freelance reporter that he was concerned about attending a session of the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa.
In an article that ran in the back pages of Wednesday’s Toronto Star, The Mayor was quoted laughing and saying, “I just see myself in a pot of boiling water with all these natives dancing around me.”
Although members of Toronto’s Olympic bid were nearby during all his interviews in Europe, it seems this was the only interview they missed.
His comments and subsequent apology made headlines in all the newspapers and was the major topic on local radio talk shows.
An editorial in the Toronto Star said the Mayor’s “tasteless remarks have pulled the rug out from under the city’s Olympic bid and insulted the thousands of African immigrants who call Toronto home”.
The Mayor apoligized for his remarks by saying, “this comment was made off the cuff and was never intended to offend anyone. I should not have made this comment”.
And in a press conference on another matter Thursday, his only answer to several questions, including one about resigning, was that he was very sorry he made the remarks. “My comments were completely inappropriate”, he said.
Paul Henderson, who led Toronto’s failed 1996 Olympic Bid said, “I can’t believe anyone in his position would first of all think like that or second of all would say it”.
But TO-Bid chief operating officer Bob Richardson downplayed the Mayor’s comments, calling them “a tempest in a teapot”. Richardson said TO-Bid has no plans to call African IOC members or otherwise follow up on the issue. “it’s not just that big a deal”, he said.
Toronto city councillor Joe Mihevic, who helped craft Toronto’s anti-discrimination policy said, “I guess Mel missed those Diplomacy 1010 classes that he should have attended.” He added, “I don’t think he’s meaning to be offensive, but we all have these prejudices we have to deal with and hide I guess. Unfortunately he let it out and, oh boy, let’s just hope it can be contained”.
Meanwhile David Kilgour, Canada’s Secretary of State for Latin America, Africa and the Caribbean, said Lastman’s “display of ignorance” will undoubtedly have an affect on the city’s Olympic bid. “The many, many Canadians who are trying to persuade the world to bring the Games to Toronto will be very disappointed to hear him make a statement as stupid as that. He has made a very serious mistake”.
“It certainly doesn’t help when the highest elected official in the city goes out and insults the 750 million people who live on the continent of Africa in 53 countries. Maybe he is working for Beijing”, he said.
Marx G.N. Kahende, Kenya’s deputy ambassador to the United Nationas, accused Lastman of “speaking from ignorance”. He added, “I don’t know how he was elected, but it appears that something has gone very wrong since that time”, he said, adding that he feels “truly sorry” for Toronto’s citizens.
And Chris Stockwell, a senior provincial cabinet minister from Toronto, said Lastman’s gaffe could not have come at a worse time. “It’s unfortunate timing and it was an unfortunate comment. All I can say is I’m glad he apologized and hopefully that will solve the problem”.
