Miss Toronto Tourism

The Miss Toronto Tourism pageant has been run since 1997. In spite of the name, the pageant's management has no official ties to the city government, or to any charities or other organization established to boost the city.[1]

In 2008 Karen Murray (also known as "Karen Director"), the organization's founder, spokesmen and longstanding director, stirred criticism when one of that year's volunteer judges was rejected.[1][2][3][4][5] The judge Stephanie Conover, was the winner of the Miss Canada Plus pageant. However, after inviting Conover to serve as a judge, the pageant's management rescinded that invitation when they received her resume, which said her hobbies included practicing the Reiki massage technique, and included reading Tarot cards. Murray, and other members of the pageant's board of directors, characterized both Reiki and Tarot card reading as "dark occult arts", that had been "rejected by God, Jews, Muslims and Christians".

Several former Miss Toronto Tourism have been involved in controversies. Alana Kindree, formerly Miss Toronto Tourism 2010, was involved in controversies involving Rob Ford. She was observed partying with a heavily intoxicated Ford on March 17, 2012 -- St Patrick's Day. Isaac Ransom, one of Ford's aides, would later tell Police he suspected Kindree was an "escort or prostitute", and that she had brought hashish to the mayor. Other reports asserted the mayor had attended a "stag party" where Kindree was an entertainer.[6][7][8][9][10]

References

  1. 1 2 Sarah Treleavan (2008-03-13). "Play your tarot cards close to your chest". Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2014-09-26. Tourism Toronto, the municipal board whose name is startling similar to the pageant's, has made it clear that there is no association - past or present. "We don't market that way," says Andrew Weir, vice-president of communications. "It's not how we present the city, and we're relieved that people outside Toronto aren't really reading about this."
  2. ↑ Dave Cooper (2008-01-27). "Woman rejected from pageant for being a 'witch'". Metro News. Archived from the original on 2014-09-27. Retrieved 2014-09-26. “We just got her bio a week ago and we don’t agree with it,” said Karen Murray, Miss Toronto Tourism pageant director. “We want someone down to earth, not someone into the dark side or the occult. We need a judge who has an upright reputation and we would be proud to introduce to the audience,” noted a Jan. 24 letter to the Miss Canada Plus group from Murray and another official with the Miss Toronto Tourism pageant.
  3. ↑ "In the News – Toronto Tourism Beauty Contest". Archived from the original on 2014-09-26.
  4. ↑ Jim Byers (2008-01-28). "Beauty queen rejected as pageant judge". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2014-09-26. Our board of directors has eliminated her as a judge as tarot card reading and reiki are the occult and is not acceptable by God, Jews, Muslims or Christians. Tarot card reading is witchcraft and is used by witches, spiritists and mediums to consult the dark world.
  5. ↑ http://www.torontosun.com/News/OtherNews/2008/01/27/4796226-sun.html. Retrieved 2014-02. Check date values in: |access-date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)
  6. ↑ Allison Jones, Diana Mehta (2013-11-14). "ROB FORD: Booze and prostitutes on the job?". Hamilton Spectator. Archived from the original on 2013-12-18. Retrieved 2014-09-26.
  7. ↑ Ann Hui (2013-11-13). "Staffers told police they were worried about Rob Ford's drug, alcohol use". Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2014-09-26. According to former Ford staffers Mr. Ransom and Mr. Fickel, the mayor’s entourage that night included a woman described in the document as a “professional escort who knew the Mayor Ford well.” She returned with them to city hall that night, according to Mr. Ransom, and had been seen with him on at least one other occasion, at a stag party. The mother of the woman told The Globe on Wednesday that her daughter is not an escort.
  8. ↑ "T.O. Confidential: The Rob Ford Files, associates -- Alana Kindree". T.O. Confidential. Archived from the original on 2014-09-26. When interviewed by police on 3 July 2013, Isaac RANSOM advised that a female by the name of "ALANA" was with the Mayor at the Bier Markt on March I7th, 2013. RANSOM believes that she was a professional escort who knew Mayor FORD well.
  9. ↑ John Semley (2013-11-14). "Alleged sex worker "Alana" may be former Miss Toronto Tourism: BREAKING! It is possible that a 23 year-old woman could be friends with the mayor without being a prostitute". Now. Archived from the original on 2013-11-17. Retrieved 2014-09-26.
  10. ↑ Michelle Mandel (2014-01-22). "The Rob Ford story: From penny-pinching councillor to crack mayor". Brantford Expositor. Archived from the original on 2014-09-26. Ransom was told to report to City Hall at about 9 p.m. where he found Ford with an entourage that included aide Brooks Barnett, old Etobicoke friend Peter Kordas and an attractive blue-eyed blond he knew only as Alana. Ransom would later tell police that he suspected Alana may have been an escort or prostitute. "There have been rumours that Mayor Ford has used escorts or prostitutes. Alana has also been seen with Mayor Ford at a stag party."
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