Tory challenges Hall Findlay in Willowdale

TORONTO — Prime Minister Stephen Harper faced tough questions on ethics, scandals and respect for Parliament during televised election debates, but he managed to dial his answers back to his favourite subject, the economy.

Martha Hall Findlay, Chungsen Leung

It seems like the Conservative leader’s game plan is being played out in Willowdale as well. Conservative challenger Chungsen Leung, who is attempting to unseat Martha Hall Findlay in a riding that has been Liberal for most of its history since 1979, said the Tories’ stewardship of the economy through tough times is what is most appealing to voters. The Conservatives’ program of keeping taxes low and ensuring a stable government is key to creating wealth that ensures employment and generates the funds to pay for the country’s social programs, he said.

Whether the Tories’ promise of a steady hand on the economy’s controls will convince voters to abandon the Liberals remains to be seen. The irregularly shaped riding is flanked by Steeles Avenue to the north and Highway 401 to the south and extends as far as Victoria Park Avenue in the east and Bathurst Street to the west.

Leung is challenging the incumbent, Hall Findlay, a lawyer and businesswoman, who won the riding in a byelection after longtime MP Jim Peterson resigned. She defeated Conservative challenger Jake Karns in the 2008 election by almost 8,000 votes.

New Democrat Mehdi Mollahasani is also contesting the riding, but did not make himself available for an interview. At the time The CJN went to press, the Green party had not named a candidate, according to the party’s website.

Though Leung is touting the economy as the riding’s major concern, Hall Findlay tells a rather different story. Tory attack ads targeting Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff are not working, she said. Instead, people are intrigued by the Liberals’ positions on easier recognition of foreign credentials, settlement services, which were cut by the Conservative government, and calls for the feds to be involved in public transit.

What’s more, she continued, “for the people of Willowdale, national issues are our issues. For the first time, a government was found in contempt of Parliament.” She accused the Tories of practising “taxpayer fraud” in the way they channelled funds to favoured ridings, and she said the “auditor’s report is absolutely scathing in terms of ethics and integrity.

“People are furious at the door, at Stephen Harper because [the scandals] are seen as reflecting on Harper,” she said. “He ran on transparency, ethics, and they’re furious at the level of control and lack of respect for democracy and Parliament.”

Leung said that the “Conservative government has provided Parliament with an impressive commitment to openness, transparency and accountability.

He said that as an immigrant from Taiwan, whose own credentials were not accepted when he immigrated to Canada in 1982, he is sensitive to the needs of immigrants. He said the last pre-election budget included $6 million to help immigrants acquire the accreditation to become productive members of the community.

However, “the key issues I’ve heard is the economy and job creation,” he said.

Leung said that in his previous career as a public accountant (he’s now an engineer), “I audited big corporations. I think we are heading in the right direction by lowering  taxes. It will attract foreign investors to invest here.

“People come to Canada because of opportunity. The future is here. We need to keep our corporations strong and profitable in Canada. This will make our entrepreneurs stronger and make Canada the export nation it needs to be.”

On the Middle East, Leung said the government’s support for Israel is based on principle and standing up to terror. Asked if Canada should adopt a more even-handed approach, he said “Canada will not be ambivalent in the face of terrorism, between right and wrong.”

Hall Findlay said the Liberals “believe in a two-state solution.” She said Ignatieff “is a strong supporter of Israel,” and the Liberal party backs steps that will lead to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

Canada can play a constructive role in assisting the Palestinian Authority in the areas of governance and policing, she said, adding that tackling poverty and improving Palestinians’ economic prospects would undermine radicals. As for domestic economic issues, Hall Findlay said she supported an end to corporate tax reductions. “I support corporate tax cuts, but not when you run a major deficit. It makes no sense to borrow money to give breaks to the top five per cent of wealthy corporations,” she said.