Rob Ford's friend search warrant documents to be released
About 300 pages of information used by police to obtain a search warrant for Alexander "Sandro" Lisi, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford's friend and occasional driver, will be released this morning.
The move will come a day after an Ontario Superior Court judge ordered the release of select portions of the information used to obtain the search warrant leading up to Lisi's arrest.
Another 170 pages deemed too sensitive will remain sealed when the 300 pages are released Thursday, though media lawyers will be challenging that in submissions to be made on Nov. 8.
During days of arguments, media lawyers opposed attempts to redact from the documents the names of so-called "third parties" — individuals who are associates of Lisi but who were not charged.
Earlier this month, Lisi — described by Ford as a friend — was arrested at a Toronto strip mall and charged with possession and trafficking of marijuana, conspiracy to commit an indictable offence and possession of the proceeds of crime.
More than a 'simple drug bust'
There is speculation about whether Ford, and not Lisi, is the main focus of the police investigation that led to Lisi's arrest.
In making his ruling Wednesday, Justice Ian Nordheimer suggested Lisi is not the focus. Reports in the Toronto Star have suggested that Ford is the real target of the police investigation.
Lawyer Iain MacKinnon, who represented the CBC in submissions to have the material made public, was interviewed Friday on CBC Radio's Metro Morning, and said it's "highly unusual" that police would produce a 480-page submission to obtain a search warrant in what is essentially a simple drug possession and trafficking case.
"A charge of drug possession and trafficking with small amounts generally doesn't justify a document of 480 pages," MacKinnon told host Matt Galloway. "The speculation is there's a lot more going on here than just a simple drug bust."
Ford was asked Wednesday if he expects that the documents will name him.
"I can't comment on anything before the courts," he said.
Ford's relationship with his associates has been at issue since the spring, when the Toronto Star and the U.S. website Gawker reported that someone tried to sell them a video that allegedly shows Ford smoking crack cocaine.
Ford has denied the video exists and has said he does not use crack cocaine.
It was learned last week that Ford wrote a character reference for Lisi, who previously was convicted for threatening to kill his girlfriend
