Rob Ford auctioning off old collectibles, some proceeds going to cancer research

TORONTO – Rob Ford has been “spring cleaning” and now the public can buy some of the memorabilia the former Toronto mayor has collected over the years.

Ford announced the auction on Twitter, saying that 10 per cent of the proceeds will go to research and care facilities for liposarcoma, the form of cancer he was diagnosed with last year.

He dropped his bid for re-election after the diagnosis and ran successfully instead for city council.

His assistant, Dan Jacobs, says Ford is selling the items as part of a spring cleaning. Jacobs did not say what was being done with the rest of the funds raised.

The first item, a map of the Toronto area port lands dated 1990, went up on eBay Friday afternoon, with bids starting at US$50.

Jacobs said in an email that Ford has several items that will go on the auction block, but doesn’t know exactly how many.

“I have a whole bunch of collectibles from over the years, and I’ve decided to put them to some good,” Ford wrote on Twitter.

A description on eBay says the map isn’t in mint condition because “a small business label, attached to the front, is starting to come slightly loose at the corner.”

The map will “come with a signed certificate of authenticity from Rob Ford himself,” the description says, but is available only for pickup and not shipping due to its size.