Today on the Hill: Ottawa mayor asks, ‘Could Rob Ford antics happen here?’

OTTAWA – Embattled Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is coming to the national capital — well, sort of.

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson and the city’s integrity commissioner, Robert Marleau, will preside over a gathering at Carleton University to evaluate Ottawa’s ethics code.

The event is titled, “Could Rob Ford’s Antics Happen in Ottawa?”

Ford has become an international celebrity and the subject of fierce media scrutiny for admitting to having smoked crack cocaine — likely in a “drunken stupor” — and marijuana, and to having consumed too much alcohol on occasion.

Also today, the opposition parties will have their calculators at the ready as they prepare for Tuesday’s unveiling of the latest federal budget.

Pundits expect the document will hold the line on spending and taxes in order to balance the books next year in advance of the 2015 election.

Other events in Ottawa today include:

— The Senate official languages committee will hear witnesses as it examines the obligations of CBC and Radio-Canada under the Official Languages Act.