City Councillor Michael Thompson, currently in court fighting accusations of sex assault by two women, has stepped down from the city’s high-profile FIFA committee.
Royson James, Thompson’s principal advisor and communications strategist, confirmed the move on Friday.
“Last Wednesday (Oct 16), Councillor Michael Thompson telephoned Mayor Olivia Chow to inform her he wished to ‘step aside’ from his responsibilities as a member of the city’s FIFA committee,” said the emailed statement.
“Councillor Thompson is tied up in legal proceedings and a court case that has no definitive end date. As such, he felt it best to remove himself from this important committee so as to eliminate opportunities for media distractions that might hinder the effectiveness of the committee.”
“Mayor Chow did not – and has not – asked for his resignation nor for a change of his status on the committee. She accepted the councillor’s request with a ‘If that is what you wish.’”
In an e-mailed statement earlier on Friday, Chow would only say: “Michael Thompson notified me on October 16 that he was stepping away from the FIFA committee.”
Thompson is the accused in an Ontario Court of Justice trial where two women allege they were sexually assaulted by him during a Muskoka cottage holiday on Canada Day weekend in 2022.
The Scarborough Centre councillor has pleaded not guilty.