Toronto Centre candidates face off at reference library

Toronto Centre candidates face off at reference library. Cathy Crowe (NDP), left, Mark Daye (Green) and Glen Murray (Liberal) sit on the panel during the Toronto Centre riding all-candidates meeting held Monday at the Toronto Reference Library while Phil Sarazen addressed those in attendance. Sarazen would later be removed from the debate. Staff photo/JUSTIN SKINNER

The debate, hosted by the Greater Yorkville Residents' Association at the Toronto Reference Library's Beeton Auditorium Monday, Sept. 19, had five candidates turn up initially. In addition to Daye and Murray, New Democrat Cathy Crowe was in attendance as were Phil Sarazen of the People's Political Party and Cathy Holliday of the Communist Party.

Martin Abell of the Progressive Conservative Party did not attend the meeting, though David Rinneard of his campaign team offered opening statements on his behalf.

Sarazen and Holliday were given three minutes apiece to present their platforms but were not invited to take part in the entire debate, a decision that rankled Sarazen in particular.

He was warned that if he disrupted the debate, police would be summoned. When Sarazen insisted on being heard on one of the questions, police entered the room and he left the meeting peacefully. Holliday also left the room, after which Crowe excused herself from the debate.

"I've known Phil and Cathy for 20, 25 years and seeing them removed by police, it's too hard for me," said Crowe.

Sarazen, for his part, was angry over the fact that many debates include only the "big four" political parties - Liberal, Conservative, NDP and Green. He said given that voters are given a chance for choice every four years, debates should give all candidates a chance to participate fully.

"I think it's very unfortunate that people use the excuse of private organizations to override basic democracy," he said.

Prior to the departures of Crowe, Sarazen and Holliday, the three main candidates squared off on a number of issues. All three said the Ontario Municipal Board does not work for Toronto, taking planning decisions out of the hands of municipalities and supported the ideas of Toronto councillors Kristyn Wong-Tam and Josh Matlow to rid the city of the OMB's influence.

"Personally, I think the OMB needs to be scrapped," Daye said. "Local residents know what's best for them."

Murray noted that many smaller communities actually benefit from the OMB, but said larger municipalities should be able to opt out. He pointed out that he has been working with Wong-Tam and Councillor Pam McConnell to create neighbourhood plans for downtown communities.

"The idea is to bring those into becoming legal secondary plans," he said.

Crowe said the OMB should not rule on development in Toronto, suggesting that municipal official plans should be the final word on development.

"Entities like (the OMB) are full of political appointees," she said, implying the Liberals have chosen the current board members.

With the debate taking place the same night as a lengthy budget hearing at city hall, which saw hundreds of residents speaking out about proposed service cuts, candidates were asked about their parties' plans to offer more assistance to Toronto.

Murray pointed to the Liberals' track record in undoing some of the downloading of services that occurred under the previous Conservative government. He said the Dalton McGuinty government has pledged an additional $3 billion over the next three years to do just that.

"It's important that we continue to undo the downloading the (former premier Mike) Harris government did," he said. "We're the only government funding transit; what we need is matching dollars from the federal and municipal governments."

Murray added that the City of Toronto Act gives the city far more autonomy than it has had in the past.

Crowe said, however, that the current government's uploading efforts were inadequate, suggesting the province should be paying more to the city in general and to fund operating costs for public transit in particular.

"Housing, transit, so many issues were downloaded," she said. "Mr. McGuinty has not uploaded fast enough."

Following that question, Sarazen was asked to leave, after which Crowe did as well. That set the stage for Daye and Murray to square off on the remaining issues.

On the issue of health care, Daye vowed his party would increase spending by two per cent while working toward new and improved ways of looking at services.

"We're committed to illness prevention and health promotion," he said. "We are committed to helping seniors stay in their homes longer."

Murray noted his party has reinvested in health care following cuts made by the Harris government, pointing to modernizations of local hospitals and increased home-based health-care services.

"(Under the Harris government) 28 hospitals closed," he said. "We've opened 19."

When asked about skepticism over budget promises, Murray said the Liberals are the only party to have their budget reviewed by independent economists, pointing out his party inherited a $5.6 billion deficit.

Daye promised the Green Party would balance the budget using a tax shift in which pollution and other undesirable behaviours would be taxed at a higher rate.

He also pointed out he wants to see the public and Catholic school boards wrapped into one, which would allow for greater tolerance of lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students in the Catholic board while saving money.

"I can easily find $500 million to $1 billion in the school system being wasted on duplication of services," he said.

The two remaining candidates also spoke about transit and transportation, with Daye touting the importance of a provincial transit strategy, including money for cycling and pedestrian infrastructure.

Murray said the Liberals established Metrolinx and said the province should pay more in terms of the TTC's operating costs but said that due to current budget pressures, "we are constrained in how much we can do."

Both Daye and Murray spoke of the need for more affordable housing, with the Green Party candidate touting mixed developments as a means of ensuring "we don't have 10,000 people living in poverty in one little four-block radius where all they see is poverty."

Murray said the Liberals have boosted affordable housing dollars and said he hopes to integrate more affordable housing into various communities through his neighbourhood plans.

"What we're doing at the neighbourhood planning meetings is slowly bringing (underhoused) people into the discussion," he said.

When finally asked which party they would support if their own party were destined to lose the election, the candidates played tit-for-tat, with Murray opting for the Green Party and Daye throwing his support behind the Liberals.