Ontario’s four main party leaders were relatively polite as they argued in a televised election debate Monday night in Toronto.
Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford, Liberal leader Stephen Del Duca, NDP leader Andrea Horvath and Green Party leader Mike Schreiner spent 90 minutes discussing topics in four sub-topics: economics, healthcare, education and leadership. Here are the highlights of the debate:
THE BINDER
One topic of tension was physically present on the stage of the debate: a folder sitting on Ford’s podium.
From time to time, the computer leader looked down at his notes for a little extra support. He was the only person to comment on the debate.
“If you’ve watched debates across the country, provincial, federal, municipal, there’s nothing wrong with taking notes to make sure you’re organized,” Ford said in a fight after the debate.
“People are not interested in that. Do you know what interests them? They take care of the jobs of the future. “
While Horvat admitted that every party leader had a piece of paper in front of him, she said it was just a set of instructions she was grateful for, along with her own blank sheet of paper combined with a pen to scribble points from the debate.
“Mr. Ford was next to me. He had his file and he certainly referred to it quite a bit. It was his choice. It was his decision,” Horvat said.
The Liberals did not address the use of Ford notes directly, but Del Duca cited the binding document in the post-debate and press release.
The Liberal leader said Ford was “literally reading a script as if he had taken it from a folder four years ago” when talking about computer policies. Meanwhile, a liberal news release mocked the binder imperceptibly by compiling a list of “corrections to the most glaring lies in Doug Ford’s folder.”
Ontario’s Progressive Conservative Party leader Doug Ford, left, is reviewing his notes as Ontario Liberal Party leader Stephen Del Duca speaks during the Ontario Party Leaders’ Debate in Toronto, Monday, May 16, 2022. CANADIAN PRESS / Frank Gunn
Instead of hitting Ford, Schreiner asked about the connecting element in his fight to immerse himself in his ability to be authentic and speak from the heart. “I’m telling you exactly how I feel,” Schreiner said.
“It’s unfortunate that maybe not every leader thinks he has the freedom to be so honest with people.”
FORD PROTECTION PANDEMIC ACTION
As expected, the COVID-19 pandemic came first for party leaders as they discussed issues such as the economy, healthcare and education.
Asked what the pandemic party leaders had learned, Ford acknowledged that this was the “most challenging time” of his term as prime minister and that his government had not achieved everything right.
“I will tell you that every decision I made was with the best of intentions, with the best medical advice I could get at the time. But we will fix the system. We are fixing it right now, “he said, promising. “It will never happen again.”
At the same time, Ford reacted defensively when his three opponents criticized these decisions, saying it was easy to comment from the sidelines.
Del Duca, for his part, said Ford’s argument that he worked 24/7 during the pandemic was invalid because “this is the job you signed up for.”
In a debate after the debate, the Liberal leader said he was disappointed that Ford was unfortunately racing when he spoke about the last two years.
“You don’t just become prime minister when there are parades and sunshine,” he said.
Ford accused the Liberals of leaving hospitals without sufficient personal protective equipment, while Horvath claimed that health care had deteriorated during the Liberals’ 15-year rule, but Ford’s layoffs destroyed the system.
PCS TOUT UNION SUPPORT
Ford is taking advantage of as many opportunities as possible to point out that a number of unions have backed the Progressive Conservative Party.
The NDP is usually known as a pro-workers’ party and has supported labor movements in the past.
Ford said approvals from some workers’ leaders showed the NDP had “lost touch”.
“You have no connection with the hard-working men and women who support us for the first time,” Ford said, while Horvath replied jokingly, saying, “I think you should look in the mirror.”
The computers received support from the International Brotherhood of Boiler Manufacturers, as well as unions representing construction and electricians.
Asked what it means for unions to support Ford as prime minister, Horvat said reporters would have to ask those union leaders.
“I know for sure that the commitment to working people will never end for me.”
‘DOG FORD IS SMILING’
At the end of the debate, Del Duca turned to the Croatian excavations against him and his party, saying that every time the NDP attacks him, Doug Ford “smiles.”
Horvat has often talked about how the Liberals were 15 years old to “fix things”, but they didn’t. During the 90-minute debate, she adhered to this technique, turning between criticizing Ford’s actions over the past four years and commenting on how the system was disrupted in the beginning.
Speaking after the debate, Del Duca echoed the statement, saying the first round of NDP commercials last year was aimed at him, not the ruling party. Although he says he is not worried about the split, he says he is disappointed with the many common policies the two parties have.
“It’s disappointing that Horvat spent a lot of time, maybe just as much, maybe even more time, attacking the Ontario liberals instead of taking the battle where it belongs.
Horvat, on the other hand, did not seem concerned about the split. She told reporters that Del Duca was “simply not ready” to be prime minister, adding that his party had no candidates in every race.
“We are your best chance to get rid of Doug Ford.
“COLOSAL ERROR”
The clear divide drawn in the early days of the campaign widened when Highway 413 became a topic in the first few minutes of the debate.
The NDP, the Liberals and the Greens opposed the bill, while Ford emphasized its benefits in his introductory statement.
Del Duca’s disapproval came in the form of a personal response on the six-lane highway that would run east from Halton to the York region during his ride to Vaughan.
Ont. Liberal leader Del Duca responds to accusations by progressive Conservative leader Ford that the Liberals will restore the license plate sticker if elected: #onpoli pic.twitter.com/W60PvLT1cS
– CTV Toronto (@CTVToronto) May 16, 2022
“I am the only person on this stage tonight whose community is directly affected by this proposed highway,” Del Duca said. “I am also the person who, a few years ago, when I was Minister of Transport at the time, saw that this was a mistake, a colossal mistake that you do not need.
Meanwhile, Schreiner and Horvath separately improved the highway’s great impact on the environment. “This is a climate catastrophe,” Schreiner said.
“He paves over agricultural land, he paves over the Green Belt,” Horvat said. “What we don’t need are more massive highways to mansions that no one can afford.”
A LIKELY UNION
Ford applauded a party leader during the debate.
“What I like, at least Mr. Schreiner, is honest and candid,” Ford said.
When addressing rising levels of hate crime and political division, Ford added to Schreiner’s transparency, saying the NDP and the Liberals were not outspoken when it came to raising taxes.
“I can work with Mr. Schreiner”: Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford praised Green leader Mike Schreiner’s ability to work with him, while criticizing the other two party leaders for their ability to work together. # онполи
For more coverage: pic.twitter.com/zzSEMIosHv
– CTV Toronto (@CTVToronto) May 17, 2022
“He says it’s for higher taxes. It is for more regulations. And I just want you to step in with your other two colleagues, “Ford told the Green Party leader.
“We work together, Mike, and you’re the type of person, you can leave the political streaks behind.
Before Schreiner could respond, the moderators intervened to announce that time was up and they moved to a new category.
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