The three main candidates debated one last time, two days before the start of the advance poll.
The aspiring mayors of Montreal are racing into the home stretch of the election campaign. The three main candidates crossed swords one last time during a debate in English, two days before the start of the advance poll.
The exercise brought together political opponents neck and neck. Valérie Plante and Denis Coderre both garner 36% of support among Montrealers, according to a Léger – Le Journal– pollMontreal Gazette. The third candidate, Balarama Holness, head of Mouvement Montreal, collects 12% of the voting intentions, an increase of 7% compared to the last probe.
Among English-speaking Montrealers, Coderre garners 38% of the voting intentions, while Plante obtains 28% of the support and Holness, 12%. About 12% of Montrealers speak only English.
Security
It was the security issue that started the ball rolling organized by the English-speaking media in Montreal.
The mayor, Valérie Plante, pleaded for a preventive approach, citing “parks”, “libraries”, “sports centers” and “quality of life” to reduce crime.
“The reality is that you are for the definancing [de la police] “, Denis Coderre quickly reproached him. Not without supporting a “social agenda” to fight crime, he argued “being able to do both” by increasing the budget and the police presence in the streets of the metropolis. “We are going to have innovative practices, like body cameras,” he added.
“Definancing is not an option,” replied his main opponent, pleading for a “balanced” approach between repression and prevention. “The police need to stay in their neighborhood for at least three years, five years ideally. Their contacts, their understanding and their way of understanding what is going on are crucial to preventing incidents. “
“Young people are leaving school, have no hope, no future,” Balarama Holness in turn poured out, his eyes turned towards the camera. Promising to “invest in families and youth” if elected, he said at the same time that his party was the only one to want to reduce the budget of the Police Department of the City of Montreal. “We must review police ethics,” he said, when asked about racial profiling.
Inclusion
When asked about Bill 96 aimed at strengthening the predominance of French in Quebec, the candidates made differing comments.
“Montreal is a French-speaking city,” said Denis Coderre at the outset. To preserve “linguistic peace”, he said he agreed with the law proposed by Quebec, “but the question of applicability is key, and we must continue to serve the population”.
“I support Bill 96,” replied Valérie Plante. “French must be the glue between Montrealers, but we must protect the rights of Anglophones. “
“Montreal is a multicultural and multilingual city”, defended Balarama Holness instead. According to him, all Montrealers must be able to access services “in the language of their choice”.
The head of Projet Montréal has been the target of several attacks on the theme of inclusion. “Your team reflects systemic racism,” Balarama Holness criticized him. Denis Coderre criticized the Plante administration for having “no leadership, no presence”.
The mayor reacted by proposing that a minimum of 33% of the city’s employees come from ethnic and cultural minorities.
Environment and transport
With a deficit of $ 62 million at the Société de transport de Montréal, “there is obviously mismanagement,” condemned Denis Coderre during the segment of the debate devoted to transport. “We have to restore efficiency in transport so that people want to take it. “
The leader of Mouvement Montréal has repeatedly accused Valérie Plante of lying on her promises to be “the mayor of mobility”. “She said we were going to unblock Montreal. It got worse. We need a mayor who will remove the cones. The city is blocked. “
The mayor prided herself on having reduced by 40% the sites “that we control in the City” and having had 25% of the orange cones removed. “We can do better, but [les cônes] are a necessity. “
“You promised the world and you delivered nothing,” added Denis Coderre.
The reproaches have again rocketed from all sides against the head of Projet Montreal. “She acts as if she were the mayor of the Plateau rather than the mayor of all of Montreal,” criticized Balarama Holness in reference to the REV project.
“Rue St-Denis passes through five neighborhoods,” replied Mme Plant.
Denis Coderre in turn objected to this flagship project of the administration of Projet Montreal. “I talk to seniors and not only do they say they don’t have space to park, but they’re scared, because it’s always one-sided. “
Finances and housing
The “economy” portion of the debate served viewers in a war of numbers.
The leader of Ensemble Montréal, Denis Coderre, said he wanted to keep the tax hike at a maximum of 2%. Valérie Plante said she agreed with this figure, despite the doubts of her competitors. The head of Mouvement Montréal indicated that taxes could increase because, if he was elected, the city’s budget would drop from $ 6.17 billion to $ 14 billion.
The housing crisis has also captured a large part of the discussions.
Valérie Plante praised the City’s “toolbox” intended to limit the increase in the cost of housing, namely the rent register, by-law 20-20-20 and the buyback of vacant land for the construction of social housing.
She did not fail to respond to the successive criticisms of her main opponent. “You say you have leadership,” said Valérie Plante to Denis Coderre, “but you have a candidate who is a professional in flips real estate. This is not serious. “
Denis Coderre argued that the housing crisis will be resolved by density (“we must build in height, slowly”), by cleaning the streets and by an “impact investment fund”. At least $ 25 million will have to be devoted to the creation of housing, according to him, with the support of partners such as the Solidarity Fund FTQ or the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec.
Balarama Holness defended a tax on vacant housing, a tax exemption in devitalized areas and a strengthening of the 20-20-20 regulation to improve access to home ownership.
Advance voting begins this weekend, October 30 and 31, in 240 polling stations.