Mayor John Tory says opponents of the $3.3-billion Scarborough subway might stoop to using “poison-tipped umbrellas and exploding cigars” to derail the controversial project.

Tory slammed councillors who are opposed to the one-stop extension after a day-long meeting of his executive committee.

Members of the influential committee voted to approve the route for the extension and to include a $178-million underground bus terminal which will hike the cost of the project once again.

Tory said the vote Tuesday won’t matter to opponents — as previous votes haven’t — and that the drama around the subway is reaching the point of farce.

“The next thing will be people trying to use poison-tipped umbrellas and exploding cigars,” he said.

This latest report on the subway goes to city council for another debate and approval at the end of March.

Tory said opponents of the project want to focus on whether a subway or light-rail line would better serve Scarborough. That train has left the station, he insisted.

“(The meetings) become all about having one more referendum on LRT versus subways,” he said. “I believe that starting back in 2013 that decision actually had been made.”

Councillor Gord Perks told the committee that city council has never been asked to approve this version of the Scarborough subway plan, which hikes the costs and only has one stop.

“One claim we should dispense with is that city council has somehow already decided on this,” he said. “We absolutely have not. Staff have never been directed to go issue a tender and build a subway. We’ve never had that vote.”

Robert Horst, general manger of the Scarborough Town Centre, which is run by Oxford Properties, spoke in support of the subway. He urged councillors to support the expansion. Asked if cancellation of the subway would impact a planned expansion of the mall, he was coy.

“I’ll answer that question carefully,” Horst told the committee. “It would be a lost opportunity.”

Joell Vanderwagen, a member of the TTC Riders advocacy group, said Scarborough would be better served by light-rail transit. She called the subway extension the “Titanic” of city transit projects and predicted it would bankrupt the TTC.

“We will crash on the rocks of reality,” she said.

sjeffords@postmedia.com