Chow’s transit announcement derailed by supporter’s tweet

Toronto mayoral candidate Olivia Chow unveiled her transit plan on Wednesday but the announcement was derailed thanks to a tweet by someone on her campaign.

Warren Kinsella, who writes for Sun News, criticized mayoral candidate John Tory’s transit plan, SmartTrack, saying it excluded most of Rexdale, a neighbourhood with high minority population.

He tweeted:

Is @johntoryTO’s Smart Track, you know, Segregationist Track? #topoli #onpoli

Kinsella also retweeted a map mocking Tory’s plan.

After receiving negative feedback, Kinsella removed the tweets and posted a qualified apology on Twitter and his website.

My apologies for hurting John Tory’s feelings. I look forward to him finally apologizing for mocking Jean Chretien’s disability. #TOpoli

— Warren Kinsella (@kinsellawarren) August 20, 2014

Kinsella’s tweet suggests Tory apologize for his work on Kim Campbell’s federal election campaign, when the Conservatives made fun of then-Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s facial paralysis due to Bell’s palsy.

Kinsella is a well-known political consultant in Toronto, and the Chow campaign uses his company to monitor media reports.

Chow was asked about the tweets during her transit announcement.

“Number one, I was very clear that I do not believe Mr. Tory discriminates,” she said. “Number two, my campaign did not say so, and number three, Mr. Kinsella has apologized and retracted it.”

Chow and her campaign manager evaded follow-up questions from CityNews about what they plan to say or do about Kinsella.

Meanwhile, Chow says she’s committed to increasing bus service and building a downtown relief line.

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