Ford Fest gets approval to use Scarborough park — but free booze and campaigning are out this time

NationalPost.com
July 22, 2014
Richard Warnica

There will be no free booze this year and if the City has its way, no campaigning either, but Ford Fest, the annual gathering of Ford family supporters, will go on as planned this Friday.

The City of Toronto on Tuesday issued a permit to the Fords to hold the event in Thomson Memorial Park in Scarborough, after city staff met with the mayor’s office to go over what would or would not be acceptable at the fair.

“A letter was also provided along with a copy of the applicable policies,” city spokesperson Jackie DeSouza wrote in an email. “Parks supervisors and bylaw enforcement officers will be onsite at the event.”

City bylaws prohibit campaign events in municipal parks during election years. But DeSouza said it is up to the Fords, not the City itself, to make sure those rules are followed.

“City staff can only make decisions based on what is provided on the permit application,” she wrote.