Endless stream of debates finally nearing its end
By the 49th debate of this mayoral season, the gotcha moments are hard to come by.
Olivia Chow has hammered John Tory’s inability to say precisely how many kilometres must be tunnelled on his SmartTrack transit line umpteen times before. Mr. Tory has routinely mocked Doug Ford’s claims of consensus building by reciting the occasions when he and the mayor voted against the rest of council. And Mr. Ford has held up Mr. Tory’s “lost” years on the board of an American telecom that had to file for bankruptcy protection, describing it as a smoking gun.
There’s no new material at this stage with these three familiar foes; just rewind, retread, and hope that with every new audience, perhaps someone walks away with a different impression.
On Tuesday, at a debate in the Congress Centre hosted by the Toronto Real Estate Board, the discussion largely centred on the landtransfer tax and transit. Mr. Ford touted his plan to slash 15% from the land-transfer tax. Ms. Chow bluntly told the group that she wouldn’t touch it, a position Mr. Tory shares. He implored the audience to consider that Mayor Rob Ford was never able to deliver on his 2010 pledge to abolish the hated tax.
“It wasn’t realistic then and it isn’t realistic now,” said Mr. Tory. “I wish I could tell you what you want to hear.”
He would later take a somewhat awkward jab at Mr. Ford’s claim that he was a “straight shooter,” saying “a lot of that straight shooting has been gunfire happening at city council.”
And later: “You had a consensus of two — you and your brother.”
Olivia Chow delivered one of her most pointed attacks yet, asking Mr. Tory to reveal how he would pay for SmartTrack if his tax increment financing plan does not work. She presented taxes, budget cuts or layoffs as the only three options, and begged him not to revert to his often repeated response: that he has confidence that TIF will work. But Mr. Tory did just that, and avoided answering the question.
He also told the audience that SmartTrack — a rail line operating largely on the GO network that will be comprised of 22 stations, and be constructed, he claims, in seven years — will cost $3 a fare. Later, speaking to reporters, he said he wants to peg the ride at the same price as the TTC, acknowledging that it may be more than $3 by the time the service actually opens.
Mr. Tory also said he would want the line to be run and subsidized by Metrolinx. A Metrolinx spokeswoman declined to comment on candidate plans, and referred funding questions to the government of Ontario.
Doug Ford held it all up as proof that Mr. Tory’s plan is full of holes, while he himself was unable to name an agency that had endorsed the idea he favours of building a subway along Finch Avenue.
Ms. Chow, meanwhile, continued to deny she is worried about her supporters choosing to vote strategically for Mr. Tory, but said he was “stealing my lines” and pretending to be a progressive.
None of Tuesday’s thrusts and parries are likely to change the result of the election, but for those campaign strategists who live in hope, there are two more to come. The final chance for gotcha comes Thursday evening.