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“I didn’t ask about the million jobs plan, but that’s the answer I got back.”

Watson’s two top questions were whether the parties would commit to funding a cleanup of the Ottawa River, as well as the second phase of the city’s light rail project. The Liberals, New Democrats and Green Party answered yes to both.

The Progressive Conservatives’ letter didn’t address either matter, although Hudak said Thursday morning that he wouldn’t fund the second phase of Ottawa’s LRT project if elected.

Watson said he would have thought Hudak would have at least sent a “reasoned reply” to the LRT question in his letter.

“We’re not a small township. We’re the (province’s) second-largest city and we’re the nation’s capital, and I think our taxpayers deserve equal treatment to the taxpayers of the Toronto area.”

That’s a reference to the $2 billion that the PCs say they would commit to Toronto transit projects after the province’s books are balanced.

Watson stopped short of endorsing any party in the election, saying he wants the public to read the responses and come to their own conclusions.

But he suggested that local PC candidates should clarify their views on LRT phase 2.

“It appears that the local candidates had no input into the questionnaire,” he said. “I think in the next week that the public in Ottawa need to know where people stand, because we have a lot invested in light rail.”

Watson’s other questions concerned affordable housing, the “uploading” schedule (the province is more than halfway through a 10-year plan to take over social services costs from cities), and adjusting the wage arbitration system.

The arbitration issue is particularly contentious because wage increases for emergency services workers are set by arbitration panels.

Asked whether they agree that the province should implement a plan to “repair the broken interest arbitration process” within six months of assuming office, the New Democrats said no and the Liberals remained non-committal.

Watson said none of the parties committed to “fixing this broken system” in a defined time frame.

Read the parties’ responses to Watson’s questionnaire here.

mwoods@ottawacitizen.com

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