Tory, the Progressive Conservative leader, attacked McGuinty where he’s
most

vulnerable - a long and contentious list of commitments the Liberals
have

either broken or neglected - throughout an even and measured
performance

that belied the fact it was his first live provincial debate.



But while McGuinty did spend much of the 90-minute debate on the
defensive,

he mounted an aggressive counter-offensive early, rebuking Tory for his


controversial plan to give public funding to private religious schools.



Hampton, meanwhile, strained to be heard over the din of the debate’s

free-for-all moments, focusing his criticism on McGuinty’s record
during

four years of government and his decision to approve a whopping pay
increase

for members of the legislature.



The debate, which can often turn the tide for an underdog or kill the

political fortunes of a front runner, was the first opportunity of the

campaign for the leaders to engage voters directly in hopes of winning
their

vote on election day Oct. 10 - still 20 days away.



Ontario is better off after four years of Liberal government, McGuinty
said,

urging voters to support his ongoing efforts for smaller class sizes,
labour

peace and expanded health care.



Frequently drawing on his childhood and experience as one of 10
children,

McGuinty was quick to confront his most memorable broken promise:
imposing a

$2.6-billion health premium despite a promise not to raise taxes.



The premier looked into the camera and described how his father
instilled in

him the importance of keeping his word.



"I made a tough choice," McGuinty said, and it certainly wasn’t
designed to

boost his popularity, he added. "There was a $5.6 million deficit."



Tory has gone around the province "calling me a liar in everything but

name," McGuinty said. But he’s ignoring the fact that his party "stuck"


Ontario residents with a massive deficit, he added.



Tory, however, noted the health premium was just one of many broken

promises. What about closing coal plants or reinstating full support
for

autistic students, Tory asked.



"Your word isn’t just important," he said, repeating the central theme
of

his campaign. "It’s everything."



Voters have suffered as a result of McGuinty’s broken promises, Tory
said,

emphasizing a familiar refrain from his stump speeches. Conservatives
would

attack urban crime, use taxpayer dollars more wisely and expand the
role of

private health clinics within the public system, he said.



But it was over his pledge to publicly finance private religious
schools -

by far the most talked-about pledge of the campaign - where Tory found

himself on the defensive.



The lights had barely gone up on the debate when Tory found himself

defending the idea, saying including children of all faiths under the

public-funding umbrella is the right thing to do. McGuinty, he
suggested, is

trying to exclude them.



"I don’t know why you wouldn’t want to include those children," Tory
said to

McGuinty. "I want to include those students."



They are included already - in the public school system, McGuinty
countered.



Hampton, meanwhile, blamed the religious-schools debate for taking
attention

away from the chronic underfunding of public schools. A veteran
debater,

Hampton saved his harshest words for McGuinty and appealed to voters to


support his plan to roll back and freeze tuition, increase the minimum
wage,

unclog emergency rooms and fight global warming.



Hampton accused McGuinty of offering little more than excuses for his
broken

promises and of letting working families down. "We deserve better."



Liberal strategists said McGuinty was focused more on talking directly
to

viewers rather than fending off attacks from all sides. They accused
both

Tory and Hampton of being overly negative; all sides were declaring
victory

moments after the cameras were switched off.



"It was a great chance to speak directly to Ontarians," McGuinty said

afterwards. "Voters are just beginning to tune in."



Conservatives painted their man as the only leader who looked like a

premier, despite his inexperience with live televised debates. Voters
are

now left with a clear choice, Tory said.



"Mr. McGuinty made signature promises to the voters which he didn’t
keep. Mr

McGuinty misled the voters, which he continues to do," Tory said
afterwards.



"I think voters will judge all his current election promises in that

context."



McGuinty, meanwhile, said Tory’s vision of an economy and a society

prospering under tax and spending cuts will ring bells with voters who

recall the recent Conservative years under Mike Harris.



"I think that, by and large, they are embracing the same kinds of
policies,"

he said.



"What they’re saying is, ‘Folks, we can have it all: we can cut your
taxes,

improve your services and we can balance the budget.’ That’s what the
last

guy said and we wound up with a $5.6 billion deficit."



For his part, Hampton tried to discourage strategic voting for the
Liberals

by playing down the threat of a Conservative government.



"I may disagree with (Tory) fundamentally on all kinds of issues, but
he’s

not a scary guy, so let’s drop that," Hampton said.



"I simply wanted people to know about Mr. McGuinty’s record and Mr.
McGuinty

continues to say anything, promise anything to get votes."



All three leaders began the debate with a video statement, which turned
out

to be little more than a set of campaign ads. McGuinty opted to
confront his

weakest flank: his decision to impose the health premium.



"I hated making that decision," McGuinty said to the camera. "I got
(into

government) and discovered there was no money. I had a really tough
call to

make. I knew people would be angry but I still think it was the right
call

to make."



Tory chose to feature the mother of an autistic child who accused
McGuinty

of breaking his promise to her and other families by not fully funding

autism support in schools. He repeated a theme of his campaign so far -
that

broken promises have consequences.



"We can do better than this," he said.



Hampton used a series of testimonials from people who have lost

manufacturing jobs, students who want a break on tuition and workers
who

want an increase in the minimum wage. Hampton himself didn’t even
appear in

the video.



The three leaders were greeted with a mixture of supporters and
protesters

outside the downtown Toronto television studio heading into the debate.
Some

protesters were trying to draw attention to the lack of support for
autism

students, others protesting plans to expand nuclear power.



Both Tory and Hampton braved the noisy throng but McGuinty chose to
enter

the building through a side door.



National Archive Send to your friends





——-Inline Attachment Follows——-