'That's downtown thinking!' Councillor Maria Augimeri and MP Adam Vaughan clash on their blind date

It's downtown vs. the suburbs when the Toronto Councillor and the Liberal MP discuss the problems with public housing on TVO's Political Blind Date

OurWindsor.ca
Dec. 5, 2017

"That's downtown thinking!" Toronto City Councillor Maria Augimeri tells Liberal MP Adam Vaughan in a heated debate over public housing.

The two politicians are the latest guests on TVO's Political Blind Date. The series, airing Tuesdays at 9 p.m., sends politicians out on a "date" to discuss some of the most divisive issues of the day.

Vaughan, who represents the downtown riding of Spadina-Fort York, and Augimeri, whose Downsview ward is in suburban North York, agree there's not enough adequate public housing, however they don't align on a solution.

Vaughan, who is helping design Canada's first National Housing Strategy, takes Augimeri to Alexandra Park. The downtown public housing neighborhood was neglected for decades, but is now in the midst of a revitalization, with new housing and amenities that are better integrated with the rest of the community.

Augimeri appears impressed by what she sees, but unconvinced that Vaughan's "creative" approach would work outside the downtown core. To make her point, she takes Vaughan to a public housing complex on Firgrove Cres. in northwest Toronto.

When the federal politician begins to muse about the possibilities for Firgrove, things get tense.

In the end, will the two butt heads or find common ground?

The Toronto Star is the series media partner and is providing an exclusive peek at a bonus scene from tonight's show.