Toronto Mayor to stay in office until appeal hearing

 TORONTO, Dec. 5 (Xinhua) -- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford¹ 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 provincial² court issued a stay of judgment³ 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 pending⁴ 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 decided⁵ Ford was in breach⁶ 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 uncertainty⁷ will result and needless expenses may be incurred⁸ 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 saga⁹ began in 2010 when then city councilors Ford solicited¹⁰ donations from lobbyists and was ordered by the city's integrity commissioner¹¹ 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 audit¹² of his campaign finances, which could also remove him from office.

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 provincial   

adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人

参考例句：

• City dwellers think country folk have provincial attitudes.城里人以为乡下人思想迂腐。
• Two leading cadres came down from the provincial capital yesterday.昨天从省里下来了两位领导干部。

3 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

4 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。

5 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

6 breach   

n.违反，不履行；破裂；vt.冲破，攻破

参考例句：

• We won't have any breach of discipline.我们不允许任何破坏纪律的现象。
• He was sued for breach of contract.他因不履行合同而被起诉。

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

8 incurred   

[医]招致的，遭受的； incur的过去式

参考例句：

• She had incurred the wrath of her father by marrying without his consent 她未经父亲同意就结婚，使父亲震怒。
• We will reimburse any expenses incurred. 我们将付还所有相关费用。

9 saga   

n.(尤指中世纪北欧海盗的)故事，英雄传奇

参考例句：

• The saga of Flight 19 is probably the most repeated story about the Bermuda Triangle.飞行19中队的传说或许是有关百慕大三角最重复的故事。
• The novel depicts the saga of a family.小说描绘了一个家族的传奇故事。

10 solicited   

v.恳求( solicit的过去式和过去分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求

参考例句：

• He's already solicited their support on health care reform. 他已就医疗改革问题请求他们的支持。 来自辞典例句
• We solicited ideas from Princeton University graduates and under graduates. 我们从普林斯顿大学的毕业生与大学生中征求意见。 来自辞典例句

11 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

12 audit   

v.审计；查帐；核对；旁听

参考例句：

• Each year they audit our accounts and certify them as being true and fair.他们每年对我们进行账务审核，以确保其真实无误。
• As usual,the yearly audit will take place in December.跟往常一样，年度审计将在十二月份进行。