Inside the Toronto election campaign: Endorsements, not-endorsements and other things you might have missed this week

It was the week of debates. So, so, so many debates. And luckily there are more to come, including one on May 31 hosted by the Toronto Star and moderated by city columnist Edward Keenan, who recently attended three debates in one day.

With just a month to go before election day, preparation by the city is now in high gear — including the release of a sample ballot to study so as not to get overwhelmed by the 102 names. Election signs will also soon start going up, and if you have questions about why the candidates picked their colours, we have the answers.

Speaking of questions, you’ll be able to ask the City Hall Bureau (David Rider, Ben Spurr and Alyshah Hasham) about all things election this Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Here’s what else you might have missed this week on the campaign trail:

Unions back Bailão, Chow

Former councillor and housing chair Ana Bailão — who has repeatedly noted during the debates that she is the proud daughter of a construction worker — landed some early trade and public sector union endorsements including LiUNA Local 183, the major construction union; CUPE Local 416, which represents more than 8,000 City of Toronto outdoor workers; and CUPE Local 79, which represents 25,000 City of Toronto workers from public health to court services.

While some wondered if this was bad news for Olivia Chow and some union members chafed, the NDP mainstay has landed major union endorsements of her own including the Ontario Public Service Employees Union, the Elementary Teachers of Toronto, ATU Canada, USW District 6 and — notably — CUPE Ontario, the parent union of the city worker locals.

On Friday, Chow landed the blessing of the main transit workers’ union, ATU Local 113. “Olivia is the only candidate who will stand up for public transit workers and we are proud to give her our endorsement,” the union said.

Ex-police chief Mark Saunders, meanwhile, has won the support of CUPE 5089, the union representing TTC special constables and fare inspectors, and Protective Services Guards. The union’s announcement cited his promises to hire more special constables, transfer the special constable services to the Toronto police, and implementing body-worn cameras.

Not-quite-endorsements

Former politician and current CEO of the Cannabis Council of Canada George Smitherman took to Twitter this past week to applaud Saunders for his mental health and addictions plan, which he sees as promoting “wrap around support, crisis intervention by Health professionals and diversion from costly police and ERs.” In an interview, Smitherman said he has spoken to Saunders about this issue and believes the plan will combine life-saving harm-reduction measures by increasing service hours with increased access to treatment and rehabilitation.

It would include calling on the province to waive tuition for the next three years for Torontonians looking to train as mental health, addiction, or supportive housing workers, hiring up to 100 of those graduates, and hiring more public health nurses.

“If you spend all those years in front-line policing you have a granular understanding of drug addiction and mental health,” said Smitherman, a former provincial health minister who has publicly shared his own experience of drug addiction. “It’s a policy I’m really interested to see people tucking into and not bulls—-ing around.”

Others are worried that Saunders’s focus on treatment and incorrect comments about overdose causes will mean reduced access to safe consumption sites, safe opioid supply programs and other interim measures intended to save lives during a toxic drug supply crisis that has killed thousands of people. Saunders is also the only candidate to oppose the police-backed Toronto Public Health application to Health Canada to decriminalize small amounts of drugs and treat drug use as a health-care issue rather than a crime.

She’s got a plan

Former Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter has a plan to “Fix the Six” and she’s going to show it to you — on paper. Hunter has drawn lighthearted laughter with her gimmick of holding up nicely bound versions of her housing plan and her freshly released costed budget plan during the debates. Full marks for presentation but stay tuned for platform analysis in the coming days.

Island (airport) in the sun

This campaign has already featured remixes of Toronto election greatest hits “Bike Lanes” and “Subways,” and the next hit single was released Friday: “The Island Airport.”

Unprompted, Bailão announced Friday that she would “preserve the Toronto Island Airport and support its growth and development,” unlike “anti-business” front-runner Olivia Chow, she said. She pointed out that Chow is endorsed by former mayoral candidate Gil Penalosa, who awkwardly walked back his plan to turn the airport into a park in the 2022 campaign.

Not so, Chow’s camp shot back.

“Bailão is unfortunately trying to play politics with the future of the island airport,” her spokesperson said in a statement. “Olivia is committed to a transparent and democratic process that respects the local community, local councillor and our city’s interests. Olivia has been clear in her opposition to the addition of jets on our waterfront and she recognizes that the airport as it is currently configured serves many people in our city and contributes to our economic growth.”

Bailão did not rule out jets — a point of fierce contention due in part to noise for waterfront residents — but said “this is an ideal opportunity to use the cleanest, greenest and quietest technology in aviation.”

She said “when making any changes to the Island Airport, they need to be done in careful consultation with the local community to ensure that the environment is protected and residents feel heard.”

Any changes would require renegotiating a “tri-partite agreement” among city council, the federal government and the Toronto Port Authority.

Alyshah Hasham is a Toronto-based reporter covering city hall and municipal politics for the Star. Reach her via email: ahasham@thestar.ca or follow her on Twitter: @alysanmati

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