Olivia Chow once again took most of the firepower as the top six candidates in Toronto’s race to become mayor faced off in a sweeping debate hosted by the United Way Greater Toronto, The Toronto Star and Toronto Metropolitan University. .
Ana Bailão, Brad Bradford, Olivia Chow, Mitzie Hunter, Josh Matlow and Mark Saunders appeared Monday night to a packed room at the Ted Rogers School of Management near Bay and Dundas streets.
While the candidates fielded questions about affordability, housing, the strong powers of mayors, supporting front-line services for the most vulnerable and a host of other issues, Olivia Chow was questioned multiple times about how much she would raise taxes. if she becomes mayor.
In a portion of the debate devoted to allowing the candidates to ask each other questions, all but one asked Chow about taxes.
“How much property tax should Torontonians under your watch be willing to pay?” Bailão left.
Chow responded that she supports a moderate tax increase, but said it doesn’t make sense for her to set a number before she has more details about the city’s financial situation next year.
“What we have to do is not choose a number because we don’t know how much the federal and provincial government is going to provide us, we don’t know what inflation will be next year in March.” Chow said. “So just picking a number, I don’t think that’s a fair way to do it.”
Saunders, Hunter and Bradford also used his question to pressure Chow on what his maximum tax increase would be.
Under fire from Saunders, Chow said he also discussed other sources of funding besides a possible general property tax increase.
“Those people who can afford to buy a new $5, $10, $20 million house, with a private squash court, can afford to pay a little more,” Chow said, referring to his plan to increase land transfers. tax for homes over $3 million.
Saunders responded that “people are afraid of you being mayor” because of possible tax increases.
“I don’t know how many people here have squash courts. Only the average homeowner in the city of Toronto is concerned about you,” Saunders told Chow.
Chow said he supports modest, not huge, tax increases, saying “modest means those who can afford it pay.”
Hunter chimed in on Chow’s “just not good enough” response before asking him a third time.
Chow has been the favorite in the race, according to most polls. The other candidates have been waging a heated battle to not only close the yawning gap with Chow, who has consistently led by at least 10 points, but to earn a spot as his main rival.
Moderator Edward Keenan dished out a helpfully humorous reminder that candidates could ask any other candidate on stage a question.
“Not only that, you can choose any question you want. We don’t all have to ask the exact same question,” she joked with a laugh.
Matlow complied, asking Saunders a question about which city services he plans to cut if elected.
Saunders responded that his job as mayor would be to get the “maximum value” for tax dollars and that he would start by “making sure we are responsible for the dollars first.”
Chow used his question to ask Bradford why housing approval times have gotten longer while he has been on the council, as part of the executive committee, and as housing committee chair.
“Since I became Chairman of the Planning and Housing Committee five months ago, we have done more housing policy in the City of Toronto in the last five months than in the last five years,” he said.
Candidates also had a chance to answer a few quick questions about the strong powers of mayors and whether the city is facing a spending or revenue problem.
Most of the candidates said the city’s budget problems can best be described as a revenue issue, while Saunders and Bradford said it’s primarily a spending issue.
Saunders and Bradford also said they would use the mayor’s strong powers to pass a charter with less than majority support from the city council. Everyone else said they wouldn’t.
Voters will go to the polls in Toronto on June 26 and early voting will begin on June 8.