Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman has been asked to resign because of inappropriate comments he made regarding Africans.
A number of groups rallied outside the Mayor’s office Friday asking for his resignation, and he was booed by some when introduced at the Toronto Jazz Festival.
And some prominent politicians have also asked for his resignation. Ontario New Democratic Party Leader Howard Hampton called on Lastman to resign as mayor. He said, “your racist comments make it abundantly clear to us that you are no longer fit for office. You, of all people, should recognize the harm caused by the telling of racist jokes. Such stereotypes are never funny”.
Alvin Curling, the only black member in the Ontario Legislature, described the mayor’s remarks as “ignorant and colonial” and called for him to step down. “If the man wants to show some grace, and he is tired and he is confused, he should quit”.
Meanwhile, the National Post erroneously reported that the head of the Paris Summer Games bid committee, Alain Mouchel, said, “it’s a blunder for the Mayor”. In fact Mouchel is not the head of the Paris bid committee, as clarified by a member of that committee. He is actually a national sporting activist, said the bid committee member.
Mouchel also said, “it is unbelievable that an elected official could say something like that at such a crucial time, just before the final decision we are all awaiting. Now the competition is between Paris and Beijing”.
Dan Moyo, secretary-general of Southern Africa national Olympic committees and a senior official of South Africa’s national Olympic committee, said he didn’t think the comments would affect the bid, but added “it will send a message that one will have to check again” Toronto’s strengths for hosting the Games and who is organizing the city’s bid. “Not only in Africa but across other continents as well”, he said.
And Kenyan IOC member Kipchoge Keino said “it’s entirely the views of an individual. It has nothing to do with Toronto. It’s his own opinion. Human beings always have failures and successes. We take it lightly”, he said.
Up until now Lastman’s comments haven’t made front page news in any of the international media, including Africa. In fact the editor of The Daily Nation, East Africa’s largest newspaper, told a Toronto radio station that there was a small article about Mayor Lastman on page 45 of the 48-page newspaper. It was in the foreign sports section.
But he admitted that it was because Friday is a travel day for politicians, who are away from their offices for the weekend.
