The mayor is highly critical of the makeover being done on Nathan Phillips Square at a cost of $51.5-million dollars. In fact, he thinks its a waste of money.

However, there is one thing he'd like to see at the square, a very large fountain like the one out front of Edmonton City Hall.

Rob Ford told reporters he loved the "really unique" fountain he saw there during his visit recently. So much so, that he wants to look into having that at Nathan Phillips Square.

The fountain is 46 metres long and has large sprinklers on each side that each point into the centre of a wading pool that's 45 centimetres deep. It's a popular spot for families.

Talking to media, Ford said, “The sprinklers are going non-stop and the kids are running around the sprinklers, which I thought was an absolutely phenomenal idea which I want to look into, and I talked to Mayor Mandel and he said it’s not very much, a couple of pumps in the water. “I'm going to look into that.”

The current revitalization project at Nathan Phillips Square includes a skating pavilion, a restaurant, a new theatre stage, expanding the Peace Garden, and a fountain in the centre of the square.