Mike McCourt is a tough questioner that does come on strong, but this shouldn't come as a surprise to any candidate. Just compare his questions with Higgins to Nenshi - I don't think he's biased as Higgins' charges.
Compare and contrast - who handles these questions better?
Higgins:
http://video.citytv.com/video/detail...gins-hot-seat/
Nenshi:
http://video.citytv.com/video/detail...-the-hot-seat/
In other interviews with Burrows, McCourt calls the candidate a "loser"