As he prepared for his first round of chemotherapy, Rob Ford today spoke to the people of Toronto in recorded audio message running just over three minutes.
Ford sounded weak as he spoke slowly with a raspy voice thanking Toronto for the “overwhelming kindness and support.” Mayor Ford’s passion for the city came through clearly as he talked of his years at city hall trying to bring change “and make life a little bit easier for the average hard working people of Toronto.”
Ford urged voters to get behind his brother Doug’s campaign to replace him as mayor.
“Toronto needs Doug Ford as mayor. There’s so much at stake in this election. The city’s future and the issues facing Toronto can’t wait. So I’m encouraging my brother to jump into this race wholeheartedly right now.” There was a sign of life from the Doug Ford campaign today. This morning it sent out a flyer announcing a fundraiser for the campaign next Thursday. Then, this afternoon, on his way into the hospital to visit his brother Rob, Doug Ford stopped to tell reporters he is set to start campaigning. He said his campaign offices in Scarborough and Etobicoke are open, his campaign team is working and he repeated a couple of times, “we’re ready to go.” Ford was asked when he would start taking part in mayoral debates but he would only say that he will meet with his campaign team to work that out. Doug Ford said his brother “gives me a pep talk every time I go up there. “ Doug Ford did say that his campaign would focus on the needs of taxpayers in Toronto.”
With the focus today on Rob Ford’s cancer diagnosis it left John Tory and Olivia Chow with only one campaign option today – target each other. In a city desperately in need of billions of dollars in public transit investments the two candidates spent the day arguing about a couple of hundred million dollars in buses. It defies belief.
It began this morning when Olivia Chow admitted her plan to improve bus service in Toronto would require the purchase of new buses and a new garage to house the buses. That was what John Tory needed to come back and charge Chow’s campaign promise for a $15 million bus improvement would really cost “hundreds of millions of dollars.” The Chow campaign countered that saying the new buses and garage is fully funded, “The carrying costs for these investments can be covered by making the land transfer tax more progressive, on homes sold above $2 million.”
To bus or not to bus on jammed Toronto streets will not fire up voters. Both candidates agree on the need for the multi-billion dollar big project - a downtown relief line for Toronto. Both say it is a priority but neither has a realistic plan for how to pay the billions of dollars required to plan and build the line. Tory, again today, said his transit priorities are the Scarborough subway, his Smart Track scheme and improving TTC efficiency. Tory’s plan is to get that done while the funding is put in place for the relief line. My read is that the relief line is not really a Tory priority.
The Chow campaign is not in favour of the Scarborough subway line. Months after the three levels of government finally agreed on a new major Toronto transit project, Chow says she would undo it all. She says, as mayor, she would go back to an LRT line to Scarborough and use the money for other projects such as the relief line and paying for those buses.
Two different plans and neither funded realistically. It’s probably a safe bet to say that the Doug Ford plan will mirror the Rob Ford plan to build subways and only subways across Toronto. The question Doug Ford will have to answer when he starts campaigning will centre on where the money will come from.
One thing all the candidates agree on is that subways are the most expensive public transportation to build.
