Five candidates in the upcoming Toronto mayoral byelection squared off at the Young People’s Theatre at a debate focused on the city’s arts and culture sector.
Not even a pair of unco-operative microphones could stop the show at Young People’s Theatre.squared off here Wednesday morning at a debate focused on the city’s arts and culture sector. Participants included front-runner Olivia Chow who declared that “art is the soul of Toronto” and Josh Matlow, who vowed to be “an ambassador for television production, film production, visual arts and so much more.” Another front-runner, Mark Saunders, declined to participate.
Chow, the front-runner in the race according to various polls, earned sustained cheers from the crowd after promising to increase the Toronto Arts Council’s budget by $2 million per year. The funding body, which offers grants to local artists and organizations, currently has a budget of just over $25 million.
Matlow also highlighted his artistic roots as a former actor and said he would go “even further” in funding the arts and culture sector. The current city councillor, who announced his cultural platform Tuesday, pledged to advocate for a federal basic income guarantee for gig workers, and to dedicate the two per cent municipal accommodation tax increase toward the arts and raise investments in the sector by $13.5 million over the next three years.
Brad Bradford and Ana Bailão, however, sparred over the future of the Ontario Science Centre, a site which has become a major focus of the race after Ontario Premier Doug Ford pledged to move the interactive museum to Ontario Place. Bailão, meanwhile, defended her plan to move the Science Centre, noting it offers the opportunity to build 5,000 housing units, including 1,500 affordable spaces. She also hinted at the possibility of transforming the existing Science Centre building into art spaces, following community consultation.
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