Toronto Mayor Rob Ford speaks at The Economic Club of Canada in Toronto on Thursday, January 23, 2014. The Economic Club of Canada is issuing full refunds to audience members who had to wait nearly an hour for Ford to deliver a speech last week. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nathan Denette
January 27, 2014 - 12:42 PM
TORONTO - The Economic Club of Canada is issuing full refunds to audience members who had to wait nearly an hour for Toronto Mayor Rob Ford to deliver a speech last week.
Ford was on his way to the venue when he got stuck in an elevator — with no cell phone service — for 45 minutes.
Several members of the crowd who had paid to hear Ford speak left before the controversial mayor's arrival.
Economic Club president Rhiannon Traill — who was stuck in the elevator with Ford and several other event organizers — says the refund is an apology for the wait guests had to endure.
She says it's the first time the club has taken such a step but adds that the event was affected by "extraordinary circumstances."
Traill says Ford was not involved in the club's decision to issue refunds.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2014