Rob Ford backtracks from 2006 AIDS gaffe

Rob Ford offered a staged an emotional apology to PWAs May 10, at the home of an Etobicoke gay man, Dieter Doneit-Henderson.

In 2006, Ford opposed funding for AIDS service organizations in Toronto
on the basis that “If you are not doing needles and you are not gay,
you wouldn’t get AIDS probably.” Ford made the comments as a city councillor; now, he is a candidate in the 2010 Toronto mayoralty race.

A Toronto Star writer and photographer were on hand. The Star described the scene as “bizarre.”

Doneit-Henderson was once touted to be the first openly HIV-positive candidate to run in the province. The Star reports that he ran provincially for the NDP in 2007. We took a look at the provincial and federal election results in Carleton Mississippi Mills and haven’t found his name on the ballot.

Photo CC Road Dog, courtesy of Flickr

Marcus McCann

Marcus McCann is an employment and human rights lawyer, member of Queers Crash the Beat, and a part owner of Glad Day Bookshop. Before becoming a lawyer, he was the managing editor of Xtra in Toronto and Ottawa.

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