Mayoral runner-up Olivia Chow challenged leading candidate John Tory to release his full campaign platform.
Chow gave a speech on Thanksgiving Monday in front of City Hall in which she criticised Tory for only making public a “wish list” instead of a full plan explaining how he will afford his campaign promises.
“You can’t get things done unless you say where the money’s coming from and this is what Mr. Tory won’t do,” she said. “That’s why I challenge him to issue his fully-costed platform right now.”
Chow, who released her full campaign platform and financial plan a week ago, compared Tory’s “empty promises” to Rob Ford’s campaign when he was elected.
“What Mr. Tory’s doing is exactly what Ford did four years ago: empty promises, false hopes, wishlists, no concrete plans,” she said. “That’s not good enough.”
Tory was also on the campaign trail Monday. The mayoral candidate received an endorsement from Transport Minister and Conservative MP, Lisa Raitt, who described him as someone who can work with other levels of government.
“Toronto needs John Tory. He has a track record of getting things done. He will be able to work well with all levels of government to produce results for Toronto,” said Raitt, in a statement published on Tory’s campaign website.
Chow, who started the press conference half an hour after the announcement, criticized Reitt and the endorsement. She cited a controversial defamation lawsuit Toronto Port Authority made against a community group when Reitt was the CEO.
“Lisa Reitt, when she was the CEO of (Toronto) Port Authority, slapped a serious lawsuit on local residents,” Chow said. “She likes to muscle out and silence local residents — That’s not acceptable.”
The leading mayoral candidates, including Doug Ford, had met earlier on Thanksgiving morning to volunteer at the Daily Bread Food Bank.
The Oct. 27 municipal election is just two weeks away.