Anthony Furey: Olivia Chow embraces a lawless Toronto

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow acknowledges "the workers" during an event on the ground floor of the still-under-construction One Bloor West in June. Photo by Peter Power /Peter Power/Postmedia Network

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Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has done a decent job sticking to a tight script during her bid for re-election. It’s a script that casts her as a centrist concerned about public safety and affordability — two of the electorate’s main concerns.

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But at a recent debate she let the mask slip and reminded Toronto voters of her true colours — that she has never been an ally of the police. That’s not something you want to do, especially when we need law and order more than ever.

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Chow’s re-election slogan is that she’s working for “a more affordable, safe and caring city.” The use of “safe” certainly gives the impression that Chow recognizes the city’s troubling state and intends to get tough on crime. But before accepting that conclusion, voters should unpack what she’s really saying.

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As one of her lead safety talking points, Chow has touted how the city hired dozens of additional 911 operators under her watch, which cut 911 response times in half.

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This is good news and wise policy and it’s a scandal that we had that brief period where callers were put on hold for a service most people have long assumed answers immediately.

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I unfortunately learned the other year what it was like to be put on hold by 911 for almost a minute, when I called to deal with another person’s medical emergency. The 45 seconds or so on hold felt like an eternity.

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Answering the phone is only one part of the solution though. Are there sufficient resources to deploy to the emergency once the call is made? Far from it. The number of police officers today is fairly flat compared to a decade ago, yet the population has grown significantly. The resources are being stretched thin.

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Yet at the recent mayoral debate hosted by the Daily Bread Food Bank, Chow made clear what Toronto political insiders have long known about her: that Chow has never been considered a supporter of the police.

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During the debate, lead challenger Coun. Brad Bradford pressed Chow on why, as mayor, she never sat on the Police Services Board as was the tradition. There are many city boards and the mayor can’t be on all of them, but none are as important as the police board and so the mayor has always sat on it.

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Sidestepping the question, Chow pivoted to how she believes her policies have improved public safety via youth programs and violence prevention initiatives.

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Then the real answer came: “We have hired a lot more mental health crisis workers,” she said. “Because police are not the only answer. People who have mental health issues need help. Guns are not the only solution.”

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There we have it, a philosophy laid bare. At a time when Toronto residents feel the city is less safe and see the daily chaos on our streets and public transit, Olivia Chow is downplaying the role police can play in fixing things and dismissing them as gun-waving distractions.