Ford in the line of fire in first provincial leaders debate

Front-runner Doug Ford endured a verbal barrage from his Liberal and NDP rivals on Monday over what government services the Progressive Conservatives would cut if they win the June 7 election.

In the first leaders debate of the campaign, Ford, who is ahead in every public opinion poll, repeatedly refused to say where he would find the 4 per cent in “efficiencies” he promised, which amounts to a reduction in spending of $6 billion per year.

As Liberal Premier Kathleen Wynne and NDP Leader Andrea Horwath pressed the Tory chief for specifics, he fired back.

“All three of us come from two different schools of economics. You two come from tax-tax-tax-spend-spendspend ‘government is the most efficient in the world,’ ” Ford said at the televised CityNews debate on Toronto issues.

“When I tell people, ‘My friends, we will find four cents on every dollar of efficiencies,’ they break out laughing. ‘That’s all you can find is four cents in efficiencies?’ ” he said, suggesting Ontarians want more than that.

Wynne warned Ford’s proposed cuts would cost tens of thousands of jobs because 85 per cent of provincial program spending is on salaries.

“Doug, I think that the threat that you pose in terms of cuts to the province, it’s really significant. How can you justify cutting thousands of jobs?” she asked him, noting Ford would have to cut 7,000 teachers to save $1 billion.

“Kathleen, it’s very simple. You have the most indebted subnational jurisdiction in the world,” he responded, referring to the province’s debt that has ballooned under the Liberals.

But Ford did not appear to be aware that Ontario already has the lowest per capita government spending of any province in Canada.

Horwath said that’s part of the problem, arguing Ontarians need more money spent on health care and other necessities, not less.

“We don’t have to choose between bad and worse. We can actually choose change for the better,” she said, noting her party would buy back the majority share of Hydro One that Wynne sold off to fund transit.

The NDP leader noted that former Tory premier Mike Harris and past PC leader Tim Hudak “were very upfront about what their cuts were going to look like.”

“They were honest about it. And I want to know, why don’t you have the guts to tell people what your cuts are going to look like? What is in store?” she said.

Ford’s reply was directed at both women and oddly suggested the premier, in office since 2013, has no experience in government.

“Unlike both of you, I’ve actually helped to run a government,” Ford said, referring to his term on Toronto city council when his controversial late brother Rob Ford was mayor, from 2010 to 2014.

Horwath interjected, demanding details on his plans.

“People should know in advance — the price that people will have to pay, and the cuts you are going to have to make, in order for you to achieve what you say you’re going to achieve.”

Ford at times seemed to relish tackling the tag-team of Wynne and Horwath.

“One at a time — I’ll take one at a time,” he said.

But his reference to Wynne having “a nice smile” led to cringes in the studio and had the premier shrugging off the comment afterwards.

Ford also suggested he would govern Ontario the way he had helped his late brother run Toronto.

“The city was thriving, we had a surplus, no one lost their jobs. Not one single person is getting laid off in our administration,” he said, boasting of an era best known for Rob Ford’s struggles with crack cocaine and alcohol that made international headlines.

Echoing his brother’s mantra, Ford pledged to “respect the taxpayer” and promised $5 billion in new transit investment “over and above” the more than $30 billion Wynne has already begun funding.

But as Ford railed against Liberal “backroom deals,” the premier reminded him that he had been exposed last week for promising to open up to development huge swaths of land in the Greenbelt surrounding the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

“I’m not going to touch the Greenbelt,” insisted Ford, who flip-flopped on the issue last Tuesday.

“Because you got caught,” Wynne shot back, referring to a February video made public last Monday.

Questioned about the practice of police street checks, all three leaders said they opposed “carding,” with the premier admitting a new law put in place by her government has not fully ended that practice.

Outside the Dundas Square studio, activists from all parties clogged the streets and police kept careful watch as traffic squeezed through northbound on Victoria St.

Protesters from the Green party sat en masse along the road with tape over their mouths, symbolizing Leader Mike Schreiner’s exclusion from the debate.

Schreiner said it’s only fair to have “Mike at the mic” because the Greens are running candidates in every riding and receive per-vote public subsidies like the Liberals, Tories and New Democrats.