In English debate, mayoral candidates lay out contrasting visions for Montreal's future
Housing, public safety and transit feature prominently in debate
Montreal's three leading mayoral candidates laid out contrasting visions for the role of police, how to create more affordable housing and how to make it easier to get around the city during the campaign's only English-language debate.
In a memorable exchange, Valérie Plante, seeking a second term as mayor, defended her commitment to expanding the city's public transit system and bike paths.
"It's not about being anti-car. It's about making sure everybody is safe," she said, after her rival Denis Coderre had accused her of moving ahead too quickly with cycling projects.
She cited the success of the Réseau Express Vélo, a bicycle lane network largely on St-Denis Street which spans five boroughs and recently surpassed 1 million riders 10 months after its inception.
Coderre said Plante hasn't adequately consulted on some projects and has made it more difficult to find parking.
"We need to have better co-ordination," Coderre said. He accused Plante of mishandling the public transit agency's budget, which is in deficit after the pandemic.
Balarama Holness of Mouvement Montréal, who focused his attacks on Plante for much of the night, called the current transportation situation a "free for all" between motorists, cyclists and pedestrians.
Polls suggest a neck-and-neck race between Plante and Coderre, who served as mayor from 2013 to 2017.
The election is set for Nov. 6 and Nov. 7.
The debate, moderated by CBC Montreal's Debra Arbec and CTV Montreal's Mutsumi Takahashi, covered six topics in all: housing, public safety, the economy, the climate crisis, inclusion and transportation.
Here are some other highlights from the debate, divided by topic.
Public safety
Following a surge in gun violence over the summer, both Plante and Coderre said they would strengthen the police service if given a second mandate.
"We need to make sure everybody is safe and leave nobody behind," Plante said, after Coderre claimed he was the only candidate who wouldn't cut funding for police.
"It's definitely not about defunding. That is not an option," she said.
Holness said both his rivals have an "archaic" approach to public safety. He said he would reallocate money from the police budget for salaries into community services.
He said areas with high crime rates have been "underfunded for decades."
Coderre, in response, said more money for both community services and the police is possible. But he said more officers need to be on the street.
"There is insecurity right now," he said.
Climate change
To make summer heat waves easier on residents, Plante said it is important to protect as much green space as possible, citing her administration's investment in the Grand parc de l'Ouest. She also repeated her pledge to plant 500,000 trees over the next decade.
Coderre said his party is committed to making the city carbon neutral by 2045. He said there should be no street without trees.
"It is everybody's business," he said. "Everybody here is sensitive about that issue."
Holness said he would prioritize low-income areas, which have less access to green spaces. He said the Plante administration hasn't made its climate plan a funding priority.
Housing
Much of the debate around the rising cost of housing focused on the Plante administration's new housing bylaw, which requires developers to make a percentage of newly built units affordable or pay the city a fee.
"I'm not going to give the key to developers without asking them to contribute to this," she said.
Coderre said the bylaw would have the effect of pushing developers to the suburbs, while Holness said it didn't go far enough.
Holness said the "loophole" should be closed to force developers to build affordable housing.
When the debate turned to how to address renovictions, Plante took aim at Coderre over reports one of his candidates, running for borough mayor of Verdun, committed possible ethics breaches in flipping houses.
"I find it very troubling," she said. "He contributes to taking away some affordable housing for families."
WATCH | Coderre, Plante and Holness offer their solutions on housing
Economy
On the topic of the pandemic recovery, the candidates had different views on how to generate more revenue and revive local businesses.
Plante said her administration froze the property tax rate and cut city spending during the pandemic. Now, she said, the goal is to continue to align property tax increases with the rate of inflation.
Plante said her party will invest in downtown to attract people to the city while continuing efforts to boost smaller commercial strips.
Coderre said there are tangible ways to attract people to the city such as cleaning up the streets.
"The city is really dirty right now," he said.
Coderre said he would cap the annual tax increase at two per cent while making sure "we're not spending like we are right now."
Holness said his party is going to push for city-state status for Montreal, allowing it more taxation powers — something his party has also said would give the city the opportunity to make it officially bilingual.
His party wants Ville-Marie to have its own borough mayor to help better manage downtown, and he said he would create tax exemption zones in commercial sectors that are struggling, like LaSalle.
Inclusion
On inclusion, the debate again returned to the role of police, with an exchange over how to best prevent racial profiling.
Coderre and Plante have both committed to making body cameras part of the uniform of police officers. Holness said the culture of policing needs a larger overhaul.
"We need better training for police officers and make sure there is true accountability," he said.
Holness said, as well, that he was the only one who would fight against Bill 96, the province's new proposed language law.
Plante and Coderre, for their part, both said they would also protect the rights of anglophones, in particular access to 311 service in English.
Watch the full debate below:
