国际英语新闻:Toronto Mayor to stay in office until appeal hearing

TORONTO, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will remain in office until he appeals for an earlier decision that has ejected him from his position as the head of Canada's largest city, according to a court decision announced on Wednesday.

An Ontario provincial court issued a stay of judgment in the conflict-of-interest case ruling last week that ordered Ford to vacate his mayoral seat by Dec. 10. On Wednesday, Superior Court Justice Gladys Pardu said Ford can stay in office pending a decision on his appeal by Jan. 7.

"I'm very pleased with today's decision and I can't wait for the appeal, and I'm going to carry on doing what the people elected me to do," Ford told reporters after winning Wednesday's application to stay in office.

The earlier ruling, which decided Ford was in breach of the Municipal Conflict of Interest Act when he participated in a city council debate in February to contest a 3,150-Canadian dollar fine when using government letterhead to acquire donations from lobbyists for his children's football charity, would've seen the city council calling for a by-election or appointing a successor after his removal.

Justice Pardu wrote in her judgment that "significant uncertainty will result and needless expenses may be incurred if a by-election is called." If the decision to remove Ford is stayed until the appeal hearing, she added, "there is no basis to conclude that any harm will be caused to the public interest."

Ford had said he would run for office again if there was a by- election.

The legal saga began in 2010 when then city councilors Ford solicited donations from lobbyists and was ordered by the city's integrity commissioner to repay the amount.

After repeatedly refusing to pay the sum, Ford took part in the council debate in spite of warnings from the city council speaker that he would be breaking the law by voting.

Should Ford win his appeal, he can remain as mayor until his current term is up in 2014.

Aside from the conflict-of-interest case, Ford is also facing other public battles, including a 6-million-Canadian dollar libel case, and an audit of his campaign finances, which could also remove him from office.