Immigration Minister Chris Alexander says the federal government has to continue working with Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, but that the Conservatives are "not fans" of anyone who uses hard drugs.
In an interview with Evan Solomon, host of CBC Radio's The House, Alexander said it's up to "the responsible authorities" to sanction Ford's behaviour or curtail his responsibilities.
"The bottom line for the federal government is we have to work with a mayor of Toronto. We have to keep working with Toronto city council. We have work to get done on building subways, on building infrastructure projects, on responding to the needs of the people of this great city, and we don't want this incident, this distraction, to detract from that work any more than it already has," said Alexander, speaking from Toronto.
The federal Conservatives have repeatedly attacked Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau for his support for legalizing and regulating marijuana, as well as for admitting he has smoked pot once since he was first elected. But party officials haven't taken a strong stance on Ford's admitted drug use and excessive drinking.
"We are never going to be fans of anyone who sets a poor example by their personal behaviour in any elected position. We've made that clear with regard to Justin Trudeau's comments over the summer [about smoking pot]," Alexander said.