In the first of two debates mayoral candidates Denis Coderre and Valerie Plante discussed housing, managing transportation, and sexual violence.
At the event hosted by the Montreal Chamber of Commerce, Plante began by condemning sexual violence while Coderre pointed out that Montreal is on Mohawk land.
The debate was mostly polite with a few heated moments, especially when it turned to transportation.
Coderre pointed out the successes he's managed in the past four years, including the commencement of construction on the Champlain Bridge replacement, the Turcot Interchage and other work yet to come.
Plante criticized the frequent delays and detours, and said that Coderre had failed to keep a traffic co-ordinator employed.
That brought anger from Coderre, who pointed out that Plante knew the traffic co-ordinator had been fired following a sexual harasment complaint.
Meanwhile Plante brought up her party's plan for a new transit line -- the Pink Line -- that would run from Lachine, along the train tracks in NDG, and then to the northeast section of the city.
"The thing I'm fighting for is public transit - whether it's putting new busses on the roads, fighting for the pink line. Continuing the blue line as well," said Plante.
She argued that Montreal can find the financing for new transit services on a large scale.
Coderre said money has already been provided for multiple projects made necessary by decades of neglect and corruption enabled by previous administrations.
"The reality is we already have tens of billions that has been spent from several levels of government," said Coderre.
The pair also debated the need for more family housing to prevent families from leaving the city
"There is a problem and we need to stop it. What we are proposing with Projet Montreal is to improve family housing because we know that it's often with the birth of a second child that Montrealers leave because they are not able to find a large enough house at an affordable price," said Plante.
She wanted to guarantee that 20 percent of new housing projects were "three bedrooms and more."
Coderre said he has spent the past four years working to keep families in Montreal, and pointed to the area around Shaughnessy Village and the former Montreal Children's Hospital as an example.
That project includes six towers that will include 600 condominiums, 600 apartments, and more than 170 social housing units.
"We are going to have a 20-storey tower that will house families. It's access to properties and we've already worked on that with [CDN-NDG borough mayor] Russell Copeman," said Coderre.
"The city population has grown by 3.3 percent, and the solution is not to implant the suburbs in the city."
Following the debate, both candidates expressed their mutual respect.
"I was pleased with the four themes and Valerie did also a good job it was really respectful," said Coderre.
Plante said she is looking forward to the next debate.
"It was a great night and I wish we had more opportunities like this. Debates are important for democracy," said Plante.
On Monday an English-language debate hosted by CTV Montreal in conjunction with other media companies takes place at Concordia University's Oscar Peterson Hall.
That debate will be livestreamed on this web site, montreal.ctvnews.ca.
The municipal vote takes place Sunday, Nov. 5.
