Final preparations underway in Toronto to remember Rob Ford
Posted Mar 28, 2016 6:24 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Final preparations are underway at City Hall on Monday morning as Toronto prepares to mourn Rob Ford.
Toronto police were on scene very early in the morning with a team of dogs. Police have said the dogs were part of a routine procedure ahead of the visitation.
Doug Ford said the past few days have been “tough.” He expects it will be more of the same in the weeks ahead.
“You see him on TV larger than life and you want to call him up, and he’s not there to answer.”
Fans of the former mayor and councillor will begin to pay their respects to Ford later on Monday as he lies in repose at the main floor rotunda.
Ford’s body will be at Toronto City Hall for two days before his funeral on Wednesday. That service will be held at St. James Cathedral at noon. The burial will not be open to the public.
Public services will begin at 10 a.m. on Monday. A complete schedule can be seen below:
Monday:
Between 7:45 a.m. and 8 a.m.: Ford’s body will arrive at City Hall. His family will also arrive.
9 a.m.: VIP and dignitary reception in the City Hall rotunda
10 a.m.: City Hall will be open for members of the public to pay their respects to the Councillor and his family
6 p.m.: City Hall will close for the day
Tuesday:
7:30 a.m.: City Hall will be open for members of the public to pay their respects to the Councillor and his family
9:30 p.m.: City Hall will close for the day, and Councillor Ford and his family will depart
Wednesday:
10:30 a.m.: Procession starting at Toronto City Hall, and ending at St James Cathedral (65 Church St.) where the funeral service will be held
Noon: Funeral services at St James Cathedral
1 p.m.: Funeral services conclude, Councillor Ford and his family will depart to lay him to rest (private ceremony)
6:30 p.m.: The Ford Family welcomes members of the public to join them at the Toronto Congress Centre (650 Dixon Rd.) for a celebration of Councillor Ford’s life
9 p.m.: Celebration concludes
Ford’s family said tributes and messages of support have poured in from not only Toronto, but Canada and the around the world, and they are grateful for all of them. They have also thanked Mayor John Tory for allowing Rob Ford to lie in repose at City Hall.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made in his honour to the Ford-Panov research panel at Mount Sinai Hospital.
