Unanswered questions swirl around mayoral candidates' fiscal plans in CBC Toronto debate
CBC
With just days to go before advance voting begins, Toronto voters got their latest chance to look at the some of the top candidates in CBC Toronto's mayoral byelection debate.
Five of the leading candidates to be mayor squared off Tuesday, sparring over their plans to build new homes, improve public safety and address the city's deep financial challenges. Of the six top-polling candidates, five participated, including Ana Bailão, Olivia Chow, Mitzie Hunter, Josh Matlow and Mark Saunders. Brad Bradford had to cancel his attendance as he and his wife were at a hospital for the birth of their second child.
The event led to sparks flying between Matlow and Hunter over Scarborough transit. And some unanswered questions continue to swirl around two of the race's top contenders — Chow and Saunders.
Here are some of the debate's highlights.
Chow has been here before.
In 2014, Chow entered the mayoral election and quickly became the frontrunner in a race with then scandal-plagued mayor Rob Ford and John Tory. She was up in the polls with time to go before election day. But after a long, grueling and dramatic campaign, she ended up finishing third.
Flash forward about nine years later and Chow finds herself in a similar position.
She's the race frontrunner but this time, instead of the months-long marathon she faced in 2014, a win could be mere weeks away. After CBC Toronto's mayoral byelection debate on Tuesday, she was asked if she's worried history will repeat itself and if she can seal the deal.
"That's up to the voters," she said. "I can't predict that. But my vision and who I am has not changed."
So, what stands in her way, besides the 101 other candidates on the ballot? It could be the thorny issue of property taxes. At every debate in recent weeks, Chow has been repeatedly asked how much she'll raise them. Unlike a number of her opponents, she won't give a number or commit to raising taxes at or around the rate of inflation.
After the debate Tuesday, the former NDP MP and city councillor said the reason why she won't give a number is because she fundamentally disagrees with the city's current budget process.
She would change it if she's elected mayor on June 26.
Instead of starting with a promise to increase taxes at or around the rate of inflation, Toronto should budget based on its needs first, she said.
WATCH | Five Toronto mayoral candidates square off in CBC Toronto debate:
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