Brown, Furey make 1st debate appearances as mayoral candidates trade barbs over key election issues
Eight candidates vying to become Toronto's next mayor traded barbs at a debate partly focused on seniors' issues Wednesday, with the roundtable format often descending into heated cross-talk.
The 90-minute contest, hosted by the Canadian Association of Retired Persons (CARP) and Zoomer Radio, was held on the eve of the advance voting period, which runs from June 8 to 13.
It featured the first debate appearances of the campaign for policy analyst Chloe Brown — who placed third in last year's mayoral election with nearly 35,000 votes — and longtime conservative newspaper columnist Anthony Furey. Ana Bailão, Brad Bradford, Olivia Chow, Mitzie Hunter, Josh Matlow and Mark Saunders also participated.
An especially fiery segment centred on park encampments and how each candidate would address them as mayor. Furey said he would implement a "families-first policy" and immediately clear encampments in public parks.
"We're a compassionate society, yes, but we can't allow our parks to be dominated by one set of individuals," he said. "Families deserve access to public space."
Saunders agreed existing encampments "have to go" but said it must be done "properly" without elaborating further. He said the issue has reached a crisis point because the city has "turned a blind eye" to complaints from residents about unhoused people living in parks.
The other candidates stressed the role of effective outreach, more social supports and pathways to housing, and the need to increase shelter spaces while making them safer.
"Tents are clearly not the answer to homelessness but nor is beating people up in a park and then just telling them to go into an indoor space that they don't believe is safe. Because it's not effective and it's not humane," Matlow said, alluding to three controversial encampment clearings in the summer of 2021.
Matlow, a sitting councillor, and Furey sparred again later in the debate over the city's harm reduction efforts for people struggling with addiction.
Furey says he would shut down safe drug consumption sites and redirect that money to treatment facilities and other priorities, while warning about "urban decay" in Toronto. Matlow drew applause from some in the live studio audience when he accused Furey of "fear mongering" about drug users.
Access to health care, housing for seniors
A major theme of the debate was support for seniors, particularly when it comes to access to health services and housing.
Brown said the city should focus on campuses of care for seniors, providing access to various medical services all within a single residential building or close cluster of buildings, where health-care workers and their families can also live.
"We shouldn't have long-term care houses to just warehouse our seniors. We need a campus-of-care approach," she said.
For her part, Chow emphasized a need for services and collaboration with non-profit groups that support seniors wishing to age in place in their own homes. That would help alleviate pressure on the city's 10 long-term care homes, she said.
She also noted that long-term care beds are being lost in the city as private operators sell off buildings. Chow said she would encourage the provincial government to offer first right of refusal on the sale of private long-term care facilities to the city so it can expand its capacity.
Meanwhile, Bailão said the city's COVID-19 vaccination program offered valuable lessons on effectively and efficiently providing care to seniors where they live, whether in their own homes or in long-term care facilities. She argued the city should build on those successes
Top priorities
At the beginning of the debate, all of the candidates were asked to outline what their top priority would be if elected mayor. Here's a summary of their responses:
Furey: Phase out safe drug consumption sites and replace them with treatment centres.
Brown: Tackle the affordability crisis by promoting "democracy for the working class" and giving more control over city-owned resources to local communities.
Saunders: Improve public safety.
Chow: Build new affordable and rental housing.
Bailão: Improve core services like the TTC to make "life easier and more affordable."
Matlow: Address the $1.5-billion budget hole by implementing new revenue streams and tackling wasteful spending.
Bradford: Make housing more affordable by increasing the number and options for a home.
Hunter: Build new affordable housing.
There are 102 candidates running to be Toronto's next mayor on June 26. You can find the full list on the City of Toronto's website here.
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