TORONTO -- Franz Hartmann sat down between community activist Effie Vlachoyannacos and TTC union boss Bob Kinnear inside the Essex Room at the downtown Sheraton Hotel.

From behind the table and under the glare of the spotlights situated on both sides of the room, Hartmann leaned forward towards the microphone and said, "The TTC needs fixing. Fares are high, stations are dirty, customer service needs improvement and we need to expand the TTC to get accessible, fast transit to the four corners of our City."

But he's concerned that several leading mayoral candidates believe privatization is the solution.

Toronto transit workers' union president Bob Kinnear issued a statement Monday calling former McGuinty cabinet member David Caplan’s private member’s bill to declare the TTC an essential service “a pathetic political ploy to deflect attention away from his government’s chronic negligence of public transit.”

Kinnear argued that the 52 hours in service disruptions in the last six years due to his union’s job actions paled in comparison to the daily delays endured by TTC riders because of what he described as the McGuinty government's unwillingness to restore provincial financial support for TTC operations.