Reporter's Notebook

Miller myth busting

You could have expected David Miller to get an easy ride at the Spacing Political Party last night, given the obvious fact that most of the packed crowd had already decided they would vote for him.

But the panelists asking the questions (in particular, John Lorinc, an urban affairs journalist, and Eye Weekly city editor Ed Keenan) were determined to show you can't always take what Miller says at face value.

The first myth, about the streetcar right-of-way, was busted by Keenan. Miller is fond of saying the new streetcar on St. Clair will be able to carry half as many people as a subway, but for a tenth of the cost. Keenan pointed out that to achieve such capacity, the TTC would have to run three streetcars linked together, and run them every three minutes down the line – something that simply won't happen.

In other words, Miller's statement is only true in a hypothetical situation that isn't contemplated for St Clair.

Miller was forced to agree with that, meaning the St Clair line will never carry half the passengers as a subway. Clearly embarrassed at his inconsistency, Miller grew quiet and waited patiently until the panelists moved on to the next question, and a different topic.

It didn't get any better when the discussion turned to incineration. Miller frequently says he is against incineration because it releases dioxin into the air, a toxic, cancer-causing substance not safe in any quantity. John Lorinc then quoted from a scientist who happens to be an expert on dioxin and who wrote in an article in 2002 that modern incinerators do not release dioxin, and that it is not legitimate to oppose incineration on that basis. Lorinc then dropped the bomb, asking Miller specifically where he gets his information that incinerators release dioxin. Miller stammered a bit, and said only he got his information from "my readings on the subject."

These two exchanges reminded me of another statement Miller frequently makes but cannot back up. On the Island Airport issue, he said as recently as a few weeks ago that Porter Airlines cannot fly its planes more than half full for safety reasons. Miller says he's "been told that," although he never reveals by whom.

I have spoken with Porter Airlines CEO Robert Deluce, as well as officials at Bombardier and independent airline analysts, all of whom tell me that is simply not true. They all say the 70-seat Porter airplanes can safely take off and land at the Island, even when every seat is occupied. They also tell me it's unlikely Transport Canada would have given Porter a licence to fly if Miller's statement were true.

All of this makes the journalists covering Mayor Miller increasingly skeptical of what he says, and makes the question, "How do you know that?" all the more important.

Posted Tuesday, November 7, 2006 | 04:17 PM ET