Toronto mayoral candidates debate housing issues

six top mayoral candidates are squaring off this afternoon in a debate focused on housing let's listen in live Regional Real Estate board and uh thanks to particular to George Brown College's president Dr girvin Furon and Senior VP Joe cressey for hosting and moderating the mayoral election comes at a critical time in Toronto we are currently facing an unprecedented housing affordability and Supply crisis it is the number one issue for voters the next mayor of Toronto must ensure this housing crisis doesn't turn into a catastrophe and that crucial housing of all forms all forms is built today we'll hear from the six leading candidates about their Solutions nothing less than the city's future is at stake thank you thank you thank you well thank you Richard listen this is a big city and this is a very big election more than 100 candidates have put their names forward for the position of Mayor as a former elected representative myself I can tell you that that takes courage all six of you know this well now as the organizers of today's debate we invited the six leading candidates as defined by their position in public polls as of last week we are grateful to all six of you for having agreed to attend today but we also recognize that logistically we couldn't create a platform for more than 100 candidates and so we encourage you those here in person and watching on television to educate yourself on all candidates running for mayor now I'd like to formally welcome our six candidates here today and I'd ask members of the audience to hold until I've introduced them all joining us here today in alphabetical order are Anna by Lao Brad Bradford Olivia Chow Mitzi Hunter Josh Matlow and Mark Saunders give them a round of applause all right let me explain the format for today's debate because this is a big topic so we have split today's debate into four sections and we've asked a panel of experts to help us with asking the questions Greg Brady host of Toronto today on AM 640 will ask questions on housing Supply Tess Kalinowski the Toronto real estate and housing reporter from the Toronto Star will ask questions on deeply affordable and Supportive Housing Murtaza heider professor at tmu and the weekly real estate columnist at the National Post will ask questions on planning infrastructure and approvals and we have three George Brown students no offense to our expert panelists but these are the real experts we have three George Brown students who will ask questions on student issues each section in each section our panelists will pose questions and each candidate will have 45 seconds each candidate to respond there is a clock on the floor I'd ask you as candidates to try to try to honor those 45 seconds after that we'll open it up for a debate for which I will try to moderate I'd say to candidates catch my eye put up a hand I'll try to make sure we hear from all of you I should note for everybody that the questions were selected by the panelists directly neither the mayoral candidates nor the event organizers were provided the questions in advance and so my only hope here is for a substantive and engaging debate the only ground rule is respect we would ask the candidates to respect each other and we would ask you the audience here in person to respect the candidates that means no cheers or jeers and I mean you Adam Vaughn when I say that today today we want to hear from the candidates directly not from all of Youth no offense [Laughter] so let me get started I had to throw that in I had to throw that in let me get started and we want to invite each candidate to provide a one-minute opening statement they'll have a one minute close at the end we're going to start in alphabetical order and so with one minute when you're ready and there's a clock on the ground and a buy Lao over to you thank you my name is Anna bilau I'm running to be your mayor with a plan to fix Services build homes and make life easier and more affordable so that our workers can live in our city our youth is not pushed out and the most vulnerable have the supports and the Dignity of a home there's nothing more foundational to someone's life than a home and there's nothing more foundational to a city of where we where and how we build our homes and communities this is more than a roof over somebody a roof and and a four walls this is about the economic and social well-being of our residents and of our city you know when my parents came here a couple years later they bought a house and that's Unthinkable of today that is why I stand before you with a sense of urgency the determination and commitment to get housing built my plan will put people first we'll build homes we'll get the city moving on tackling the housing crisis we will build 57 000 of affordable homes we'll put more land on the hands of affordable uh non-profit organizations and will protect renters thank you Anna Brad Bradford thanks very much Joe and thank you all for being here it's great to be in a room full of city builders my name is Brad Bradford and I am running for mayor you know my career has been defined by city building the creative task of seeing the potential in real estate seeing the potential in our communities and bringing that to reality I'm an urban planner by training I've had an opportunity to work with many of you in that capacity I actually worked at the chief planner's office at the city of Toronto that was my first exposure to the type of big bureaucracy that is holding this city back so in 2018 I ran for Council to fix it and once I was elected I can tell you it didn't take four years to diagnose the problem we need less talk and more action from City Hall we need to end the endless debate deferral delay that is holding this city back it's time to build more housing I will cut the red tape streamline the process to make sure we build an affordable City for everyone not just in one neighborhood but across all 600 40 square kilometers together we're gonna get that done thank you Brad Olivia ciao I immigrated with my mom and dad to Canada when I was 13. my dad had a mental health issues couldn't work my mom has a hotel made with one little salary was able to pay the rent in St James town and still feed the families that's not possible now life is so on the forebo now that is because the city have stopped building affordable housing in the last decade and that needs to change we could keep going in the same way get stuck waiting for affordable housing gets stuck in traffic we get stuck in everything we need change now together let's build a city that is more caring affordable safe where everybody has a home thank you thank you Olivia Mitzi Hunter hi everyone I'm Mitzi Hunter and I'm running to be the mayor of Toronto I want to lead Toronto's Revival as a city that will work for everyone everywhere in our city growing up in Scarborough I had a friend who I worked with who became homeless and my mom invited her to live in our home we created a corner in our living room and that's where her and her two boys lived this city is at a turning point we must not let it be a great a Breaking Point or as was said earlier a catastrophe and housing is at the tour of the concerns that I hear when I talk to people across the city young people who grow up here have to be able to afford to live here that's our talent look at the Brain Trust in this room today we can do this we can fix the sex let's work together to do it thank you Mitzi Josh matler my name is Josh Matlow and I'm running to be your mayor because I believe that a better Toronto is possible if we focus on real ways to address safety affordability and livability in addressing the declining services that we've seen for far too long when I talk about affordability I mean that every one of us needs to adapt our views and evolve including myself to address the housing affordability crisis there are too many young people who I hear from who have given up on their dream of owning a home even in their own their own neighborhood that they grew up in renters are spending too much on rent and not enough money left over for groceries there are people who are living on our streets and in our Parks who need a real path to housing the best way to fix homelessness is to ensure that people have a home and there are older adults who might be house rich but they're poor month to month because their pensions aren't keeping up with inflation housing should be a right for everyone and I have a very clear plan on addressing the many different areas that if we focus on and actually act on we can address the crisis thank you Josh Mark Saunders great thanks again always a bridesmaid here first off let me say thank you all for being here you know in 1967 my parents came with six kids and the vision wants to provide a better education and I fast forward to today after being the former Chief of Police running the largest Municipal policing agency in the country establishing experienced leadership having an opportunity to run for mayor of the city of Toronto and this is exciting when I look at the housing debate my debate is why hasn't it been done everybody over here to my left they're going to talk about plans and schemes and all these kind of things which are wonderful but they never delivered this is a leadership praise this is about experienced leadership putting a plan together and executing that plan and that plan simply has never been executed constant discussions about the hamster wheel my plan will build the Forty thousand affordable places my plan will meet the 285 000 new units that have to be built through leadership and a plan it will get done thank you thank you all so we're going to move into the debate format now again we have four sections the first is on housing Supply again you're each going to have 45 seconds I'm going to start with Brad Bradford after we've heard from all of you we will open it up for debate just signal to me or or jump in we'll see how this goes uh I'm going to turn it over to Greg Brady from Toronto today to kick us off thanks very much to see all six of you a little later in the day than I usually see you so we're all a little more coherent a recent ipsis poll showed 76 percent of Canadians feel owning a home it's the best investment a person can make Saint Paul 63 percent of Canadians who don't already own a home have given up on ever owning a home so all six of you have been on our show Toronto today on 640 Toronto thanks Joe and I got all of you to agree with me that parents should help their kids so they can buy their first home but parents shouldn't have to sell their own home to make that happen that's not the dream as mayor what will you do to make home ownership possible for more young adults and I'd like you to let down the curtain a little bit too can all of you please begin your answer with telling us the age you were when you bought your own home I'll share I bought a home with my eventual wife at age 30. she said that's the house and I said absolutely it is honey so that's how that worked Brad you start uh thanks very much uh Greg appreciate the question I was uh I guess I'm 36 now and so I we probably bought our place at 30. uh and yet I hear from folks every single day that's not possible and we had some help we were very privileged unfortunate we had some help and that that's what it takes for so many people to get on the market right now the question is why is it so hard to get in the market the answer is easy Supply we do not have enough housing to meet the demand we have half a million um new Canadians 500 000 new Canadians coming to the region every year there's a huge demand for housing and the housing isn't getting built now let's talk about the numbers the city of Toronto approves 30 000 new housing units every year but only 16 000 get built we need to streamline the process make it easier to build housing remove the bureaucracy cut the red tape get more shovels in the ground faster I'll hold on the time and we'll come back thank you Olivia yep um I had the same experience honey this is the house I said okay but I was in that late husband of mine uh I was in my 40s and we had to rent out quite a few rooms in order to pay the mortgage it wasn't easy but it was doable and not so much now I think one of the key reasons is because there's no not enough Supply from the affordable side because at that time the city government at the time built 32 000 units of housing self and then it stopped we need to get back the city of Toronto have a road to play be the developer and actually build in my plant 25 000 units of housing thanks Greg so I was 27 and I lived in Scarborough our family home that we rented was burnt out and so for a while we lived above a store and my mom said to me Mitzi I really want you to have your own place so I paid down on a condo and started to save I asked my niece Jada recently if she hopes to buy a home she says no she doesn't have that as part of her goal because she just simply can't afford it and so I have a comprehensive plan to build more affordable housing on city-owned land where the city is the Builder as well as the owner deeply affordable because we have to make sure that this city continues to be a place that young people can live here Josh I was in my mid-30s when Melissa and I bought our first home and it was actually on a residential street in a neighborhood that used to have larger single-family homes that were redeveloped into a row of town homes and that's why we were able to get into the market just barely we're still paying for that today the bank is the majority owner and it's true um but it you know and that's one of the reasons why we need to reimagine our neighborhoods and just adapt to the reality that whether you are younger like we were trying to find a price point that could just access the market or an older adult that would like to even maybe break up their their existing home and have their kids own a unit and then somebody else own another unit and condolize it in a way where we cut the fees to allow that feasibly to happen it's one thing to rezone but we also need to actually ensure that the rules allow it to become a reality I'm going to go to mark thank you okay that's a short 45 seconds it is I was in my mid-20s and I'll tell you it was by luck in one stance but also it was 70 if my income to to live so when we spoke about groceries and and buying the Necessities for day to day it was complex but the problem we're in right now is government's role is to create the environment for buildings to happen for these affordable places to take place and government has failed when you look at the average age of purpose-built rentals in Toronto 90 percent 90 percent of purpose-built rentals are over 40 years old it's because people have done a lot of talking and not executing there lies the difference between these great plans and not executing I am here to execute so people can live their dreams of living in the city at an affordable price Anna so I was about 26 years old and I walked home with the plans for a condo and my parents almost had a heart attack when I told them I was about to buy a condom that that was when I bought uh my first my first property uh I think we need to do three things uh to have more ownership in the city increased Supply absolutely we need to increase Supply and obviously the city has a lot to do in terms of the approvals and speeding up the approvals as well we need to work more with our non-profits options for homes Habitat for Humanity because there's an income bracket that will need to have access to those organizations and we need the housing options as well like what I've done with laneway housing and Coach housing and multiplexes housing to give options because you know you might not be able to buy the 1.5 million but maybe getting together with your brother or sister you might be able to afford the 750 000 dollars thank you Greg back to you unless this is a portion where if people want to jump in and vast pursuit or wanted to add on I can't open it up here I would just say that you know it when it takes three years to get through housing approvals we have the slowest housing approval rate in North America and that's not a statistic that you want to lead so when we talk about the supply challenges there is just a whole apparatus of bureaucracy that slows things just down and I will point one two three candidates on the stage that think the answer to building more housing is building more bureaucracy that is the completely the wrong approach what we need to do is streamline the process get the approvals done faster get shovels in the ground and work with our not-for-profit and Market providers I just want to say that the focus that I have on the affordable housing Corporation is actually to take the city-owned lands and make that majority affordable housing 77 for affordable home ownership at below average Market rents as well as 6 100 of those units will be home equity so that young people can actually buy into the market at half the cost and so this is about getting more Supply on stream it's not about bureaucracy okay I'm going to Anna then Mark then Olivia then Josh Anna you know the first hire I'm going to do when I get elected mayor is a land Economist for the city of Toronto so people learn how to read performance and actually stop making feel-good policies that will not put troubles on the ground and realize that everything has an impact on the cost of housing and the price of Housing and these plans don't add up any of you in the construction business can get anything done for 260 dollars a square foot you can't the math doesn't add up we need to have real plans for a real crisis that we have in our hands mark [Applause] yeah again I'm going to go to Full Circle everybody knew what the stats were and everyone here had an opportunity to be a part of moving things in the right direction and they did not and with all due respect Miss Bilo you were in charge of housing not once did you stick your hand up and say that there was a problem you went with the flow you stayed with status quo you did not move further on what needed to be done especially when it came to the process so I find it rather Rich to be talking about what things that will be done when things should have been done with the vast majority and with all due respect Miss Hunter you're adding another layer of government that's all it is at the end of the day we're moving in the wrong direction when we're moving to add another layer we need leadership that moves in the direction that we need to do in that direction is to build and to build at an affordable rate cutting the red tape so it doesn't cost more in creating Toronto to be an environment where people that build want to come to the city to build because right now they don't because of what has happened I have Olivia and Josh coming in Olivia we need affordable housing rental housing market mid-range we need gentle density as of right building four stories four units go for a live represented the Entertainment District the Kings 15 years 95 projects my gosh you see it coming up it's totally doable we need all of it let's get together and build it but most important let's build those affordable units because there are 90 000 people household actually on the waiting list for rent gear to income housing that's my priority too Josh along with improving access to more options for more people to buy in our neighborhoods we also need to put forward a plan as I have to protect renters livability and affordability we need to make sure that there's more access to social housing cooperatives a number of different models to provide more options for people in the city and when it comes to building on our own properties I do find it rich that the very people who voted for and consistently supported housing now which is a failure six years on not a single shovel on the ground can look at plans like I've put forward and criticize them and say you can't do that I'm proposing a model where we actually move forward as a public Builder not new bureaucracy we're working with the people we have to move forward with affordable housing of deeply affordable housing and the market rents the market rents are going to pay for the project moving forward and they're going to be rent controlled we can do that if we choose to but the reality is anyone who tells you that the existing status quo that they've created is working the test of failure is whether or not there's a single shovel in the ground there isn't one and I'm proposing a model to use the expertise of the city to move forward with the construction because I want to bring some others the greatest failures that it relies on the risk from developers to actually move forward with that project that's not right there were some claims made directed towards antibi law and Mitzi I want to give them a chance to respond and then I'm going to come back to grad guide actually to keep your responses quick so we can't do the same old same old to we have to have a solution the solution that I'm proposing is very much about building more housing more quickly I have the experience as the former chief administrative officer for Toronto Community Housing Corporation and I understand how to get things done and so this is about making sure that we actually invest in neighborhoods in mixed communities it's a spectrum of housing it's not just one type and that's what we need in Toronto we need to fill in that missing middle we need to build on the 1200 kilometers of major streets that we have eight stories as well as unlock public lands to make sure that we have those units for the young people who need to live in our city all right final word very briefly to Anna and then I'm coming back to you Greg listen when I became chair of planning and housing I inherited a broken system governments were stepping away for decades of stepping away from building housing we had to actually change the system bringing the city back back into the housing system today since 2017 we have built over 6 1600 units of affordable housing we had three thousand under construction and we have 15 000 approved do we need to do more do we need to do quicker absolutely that's why I'm here that's why I'm running because I am the one that has the track record to work with all of you non-profits and Builders and three orders of government to bring it to the table and to get those those I'm going to come back and I appreciate mentee but I want to make sure we get back to Greg Brady because he has an early morning show he's been awake a long time talk to you on questions and again we're gonna have 45 seconds first Olivia you're kicking us off this round okay okay Olivia what are your views on the current level of Taxation on housing in Toronto in particular the municipal land transfer tax property tax the vacant home tax and other government imposed fees and will you promise a week before the election to tell the voters of Toronto what their property taxes will be in 2024. if you can't make this promise to all six candidates why won't you uh well let me talk about the first part of your question you asked about all the other forms okay so absolutely land transfer tax I believe that to people since we need to build housing we have to find money somewhere you and I agree with that so land transfer tax I'm not touching it for people that are you know 98 of the folks that are buying a new home but that two percent that buy homes that are 10 million 20 million 5 million 3 million they can afford to pay a bit more and I'm generating that funds in order to support the program that I'm describing okay and the second one you asked about we'll get to you on the way back for the second one okay will you tell voters what the property tax will be on their property for 2020. what I would do is I will actually look at all the needs of the people of Toronto I'm beginning to say like for example a third of one percent will raise me 13 million a year and that would actually go to build put in the down payment plus the federal dollars to build the 25 000 units of of housing rent gear to in sorry pardon me rent control housing and 30 percent of them would be affordable Mitzi 45 seconds yeah so you know I want to build a city that actually works for the people who live here and we know that the city's infrastructure is crumbling we see that whether it's in the potholes or it's in the snow that wasn't removed and and people want to make sure that when they pay their taxes they're getting that service back to make sure that we have a clean and beautiful and well-maintained City and also a city that is a and that's what I'm what I'm focused on the land transfer tax is something that is unpredictable we don't know what it's going to be and it's frankly it's floated the city for the last number of years Olivia I think you have to also think about the fact that you know you you increase taxes on those that are wealthier but what happens when there's it locks up the movement of housing Supply those that are trying to enter the market may not be able to afford it because it puts upward pressure on the cost of those homes so we just have to make sure that we be careful about that as well Josh they're um there are very few tools as you know Joe and Greg that we've available in the city of Toronto act to be able to raise revenue to be able to meet the needs of torontonians whether it be housing Transit and improving Services I also recognize that we are facing a 1.5 billion dollar shortfall now that's being covered up by rating the reserves that's reckless and we can't go on that way so I decided to perhaps be the first mayoral candidate in our history to admit that we need to raise property taxes and um so above inflation there's going to be a two percent uh property tax raise that I call the City Works fund and the reason that is the City Works fund is to be it's going to be a dedicated fund directly toward improving whether it be repairing roads improving access to Recreation uh making sure that we have supports for our most vulnerable just after you finish that a lot and the many challenges that we face with declining services including housing I also I'm going to be positive there and go to I'm sorry excuse we'll come back to you great thanks first off I've been very clear I am not going to be raising taxes about inflation right now when we talk about affordability I'm not going to take food off your table to feed your families what I will do though is make sure that we're accountable for the existing budget and where money should not be spent and we should be prioritizing it on the right things I'm listening to some fancy stuff Olivia did not say anything with respect to are you going to raise taxes I can answer that for you she will raise taxes you will hear the sounds of cranes leaving the city of Toronto going to other jurisdictions make no mistake about it if you follow the past and follow history that is the agenda taxes will be raised and how wealth is defined whether you're wealthy or not well hold on your seat belts because once you hear that it's going to be a nightmare in the city of Toronto this is why we're in trouble I'm gonna over to Anna and then Brad and Olivia I'm going to give you a chance to respond to that right after Anna we have an affordability crisis in this city and I do that in consideration and I will not raise taxes above the rate of inflation but I do realize as well and as everybody in this room does that we have a 1.5 billion dollar hole in our budget that would mean a 39 property tax increase you know why I'm really running on and asking everybody to give me their vote to get a better deal for the city of Toronto there is no prop you're not gonna tax your way out of this hole you're not going to cut Services out of this out of your way out of this you need somebody that is going to get a better deal for the city of Toronto and it starts with the upload of the gardener and the DVP is just an example of how unfair it is that we're paying for those highways that over 50 percent of the of population use the only one that has a track record of getting billions for the city of Toronto is me we need on day one somebody that is going to be able to negotiate that deal and Brett I don't know how long ago these candidates paid off their mortgages but I still have a mortgage and it's it's very expensive and cash flow is tight for torontonians on a month-to-month basis interest rates have gone up 40 percent people are paying thousands and thousands of dollars every year and after tax dollars and that makes life less affordable in the city of Toronto I don't want people to have to move to Hamilton I want them to stay right here in this city if that's where they want to be and Olivia's Chow's plan and to Jack everybody's taxes up ignores the fact that people are dealing with an affordability crisis the mltt the vacant home tax how many vacant home units in Toronto the number came back 2100 it was a fraction of what staff estimated and that is not going to be a Panacea so we have to be very honest I appreciate the question Greg how expensive is Olivia Chow going to make life here in the city so I want to give Olivia a chance to respond here uh Olivia Mr Bradford has said something like 20 I don't know where he came up with that number it's wrong and um I've been on the budget committee for 10 years it has been a balanced budget unlike what you're seeing now that there's a budget with a big deep hole in it of over a billion dollars and what is a budget what is tax is really when you let's say a family come together if the roof is leaking if one of the kid is sick and needs a medication what do you do you go and find other money right you may have to work another shifts and do another job and that is what we are looking for additional dollars like the Mansion tax the luxury homes and the speculators and on top of it the FED were in the provincial government has a role to play and we've been 10 12 years where we have not had a fair deal for the city let's work together to make that happen just to get real for a moment of course we need to advocate for a better deal both governance and financial framework with other governments but anyone who actually believes that Doug Ford is going to come to our rescue is not being honest with you and or themselves because there's no evidence of that in fact Doug Ford only a week or two ago cities not going to upload the garden in the DVP so yes we need to Advocate and yes we need to achieve a new deal for Toronto but we also need to get our own house in order and that means being honest with residents about what it will take to improve our quality of life both affordability livability and safety and the reality is and if I may just finish my answer to you Greg we also need to we need to have a climate action Levy a corporate parking lot Levy to bring in at very least 200 million dollars a year to fight the climate crisis to reverse the cuts to the TTC to put towards housing to do real things that make a difference in people's lives but if we're not willing to be realistic and be honest with residents when we're running for election then how can they trust us to deliver anything if we are elected mayor I'm demonstrating to people that not only do I have a plan but it's real I'm going to Mark then Brad then Anna and Mitzi with the last word Mark I just heard the sounds of cars from small businesses driving out of the city right now but I'm going to answer Miss Chow's question because she doesn't want to answer she said herself I'm ready to tax City of Toronto Olivia Chao is ready to tax it's simple so let's stop dancing around this and get right to the point we have to have a strong working relationship with all levels of government if we're going to get this right being an experienced leader knows how to negotiate those opportunities I've done it in the past and I'll do it again Toronto is not going to dig itself out of these massive issues we are the biggest city in the country fourth largest in the continent we need help you're going to get more bees to honey than Salt so if you're going to start pointing fingers about the enemy and David and Goliath moments we all got to get along here if we're going to build okay it starts with building relationships like with Doug Ford back with anyone like anyone really if it is in power okay thank you thanks thanks very much for the record for everybody watching at home Olivia keeps going back to the balanced budget the budget is required to be balanced by law uh in municipality so I don't wanna I don't want you to Pat yourself on the back too much for that that is the law and I also want to say you you don't we did the math for you on your tax increases and we released that yesterday for everybody I call it 20 it's 19.98 percent uh property tax increase and that's a conservative estimate because it doesn't account for all of the new bureaucracy and layers of government that you're going to create to stand up some sort of Municipal bureaucratic development arm that is the wrong direction that will make life in this city less affordable more expensive people cannot afford a 20 tax increase from Olivia Chow and that is why I am standing up and fighting for affordability from the vacant home tax because you asked me that question how much am I getting the three percent give me a number if you know your math you are you are saying that you're going to get a lot more than is available how much how much am I getting in that there's only 20 there's only 2100 units the city government messes the figure if you will stop talking I will answer your question well then I'm going to pause you both and go straight to Annabella and then mid to that Etsy to close us off you guys do your math because I've done mine I've done mine since day one and I always knew that the 1.5 billion dollars and the and the 46 billion dollars in capital backlog was the real problem that the city is facing and we need a mayor that is going to be able to deal with it and here you have somebody that has built the career as being in opposition and it's only talking about solving its taxes as Olivia Chao and Mark Saunders that tries to be the outsider even though that he was a police chief the candidate for a PC government the advisor for the Ontario Place and now tries to make it seem like he's the outside and is the preferred candidate of Doug Ford you need somebody to stand up for this city somebody that is actually delivered [Applause] you can have somebody that actually delivered then when when houses were being sold at tchc and I was told there is no plan to go to the other orders of government today we have a fully planted 2.6 billion dollars and those homes are saved because I did it and didn't take no for an answer and I'm going to go to Mitzi with the last word here ladies and gentlemen we got a lot of questions and then we're going to switch topics on our second theme Mitzi so very clear listening to this debate that we need a new solution for the for Toronto we cannot just do the same old same old I am the only candidate on this platform here that has a plan that has been put together transparently posted on my website and people can take a look at this I will release a fully costed budget before the voters go to the poll we need to build more housing we've said that it's not about identifying the problem it's about actually having a plan to solve it and that is what I am offering right here building more affordable units ensuring that we have more capacity on our major streets to add more density as well as unlock the missing middle by offering homeowners a one hundred thousand dollar Reef give re forgivable loan to create those uh those one two and three additional Suites and units of housing we cannot stand still we cannot just give everything over to developers to solve for us the city has to be the owner and we cannot just hope that the federal and provincial governments are going to step in and solve Toronto's problems this is something that we have to do ourselves and the people of the city are counting on us to do that and that's why I'm running to be your mayor and colleagues I know they're moving to an important topic here on deeply six top mayoral candidates are squaring off this afternoon in a housing debate the debate will continue and viewers can tune in online at cp24.com

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Length: 38min 20sec (2300 seconds)

Published: Wed May 24 2023