The city and Rideau Transit Group (RTG), which includes SNC-Lavalin, ACS Infrastructure and Ellis Don, have lost sight of public interest in their fight to end the LRT, which has been delayed for more than 15 months , according to the report. It is clear that the Confederation Line was “rushed into operation” by RTG, which was under financial pressure due to construction delays and political pressure from the city, the report said. Judge William Hourigan, the commissioner of the inquiry, released his 664-page report, with 103 recommendations on how to prevent similar issues in the future, on Wednesday morning. It is the culmination of nearly a year of work by the commission, which received one million documents, interviewed more than 90 witnesses and heard from more than 40 of them during 19 days of public hearings last summer. In his conclusion, Hourigan wrote: “While human error is understandable and to be expected, intentional misconduct is unacceptable in a public work. When participants intentionally mislead the public about the status of a public undertaking, they violate a fundamental obligation based on all public efforts.” Since its launch in September 2019, the Confederation Line has been hampered by a number of problems: malfunctioning doors, flattened and cracked wheels, faulty overhead power lines and broken axles, to name just a few. Hourigan said there were several issues that led to a wide range of problems, including a pair of derailments last year — one near Tremblay Station shut down the LRT for nearly two months. However, he singled out two cases in the project “that stand out as egregious breaches of public trust.”
Inquiry commissioner points to “persistent failures” in LRT leadership
Judge William Hourigan said the city and Rideau Transit Group (RTG), in efforts to protect their own interests, created an “atmosphere of mistrust.”
Deceptive schedules ‘unconscious’
He blamed RTG and its construction arm, OLRT-C, for repeatedly giving the city completion dates it knew were “completely unrealistic.” “It was unconscionable that RTG and its prime subcontractor knowingly gave inaccurate information to the city about when they would finish construction of the LRT,” Hourigan wrote in his report, adding that the game failed commercially and further escalated the already strained relationship of RTG. with the city. What’s worse, Hourigan said, is that the public has suffered from repeated misinformation. “The leadership of RTG and OLRT-C seemed oblivious to the fact that providing this misinformation negatively affected the daily lives of hundreds of thousands of people. the city and tell them honestly when the system would be ready. “The Commission finds that RTG and OLRT-C betrayed that trust,” he wrote. Former City Manager Steve Kanellakos announced his resignation Monday, two days before the report was released. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
Harsh words for former mayor, manager
Hourigan also had harsh words for both former City Manager Steve Canellaco, who resigned Monday, and former Mayor Jim Watson for withholding information from the rest of the council about the final testing phase of the Confederation Line, known as the test. The City was not informed that the testing criteria for the LRT had been lowered to allow it to pass its final testing phase. “This conduct has irreparably compromised Council’s legal oversight capacity and raises serious concerns about whether the City of Ottawa can properly complete important infrastructure projects,” Hourigan wrote. It also “prevented councilors from fulfilling their statutory duties to the people of Ottawa. Furthermore, it is part of a disturbing approach taken by senior city officials to control the narrative by withholding vital information or outright misrepresentation “, he found. WATCHES | The LRT committee created this video as a summary of the report’s findings: “Worse, because the conduct was deliberate and intentional, it raises serious concerns about the good faith of senior city officials and raises questions about where their loyalty lies. “It is difficult to imagine the successful completion of any important project while these attitudes prevail within the municipal government.” He added that there is no reason to believe that the behavior during the trial was “an anomaly or that transparency has improved within the city”.
A litany of problems
Hourigan found that the Confederate Line’s problems were the result of a myriad of factors. These include:
The city chose an Alstom train with unproven technology that stretched the limits of what an LRT system could do. RTG did not coordinate the work of its subcontractors and failed to ensure the integration of the various systems and components. The relationship between the city and RTG has become too adversarial, and Ottawa residents “face the specter of a largely dysfunctional partnership that has operated and maintained the light rail system for decades.” The City rushed the LRT system into operation before it was ready, mainly due to political and public pressure. RTG and its subcontractors failed to provide adequate maintenance.
The recommendations also include having an independent monitor keep the city council and transit commission informed of ongoing changes and issues. Hourigan also recommends that all levels of government consider whether a public-private partnership (P3) contract model, used here for the first time on a transit project in Ontario, is appropriate. Caution tape is attached next to the site of an LRT train derailment on Ottawa’s Confederation Line on September 19, 2021. A pair of major derailments last year contributed to the province’s decision to call for a public inquiry. (Nicholas Cleroux/Radio-Canada)
Cooperation failure
At a press conference Wednesday morning, Hourigan and the investigation’s lawyers laid out a key point: that the city and RTG have failed to cooperate, to the detriment of both the project and the people of Ottawa. “The people who live in this city, who visit it, deserve to have confidence that the LRT system is safe and that it will get them where they need to go, on time, reliably, every time they get on the train.” said Chief Counsel Kate McGrann. “People and entities involved in public infrastructure projects like this should always, always keep that public interest at the forefront of everything they do,” he said. “And that, as a guiding principle, has been missing at times — very crucial times — in this work.” Provincial taxpayers deserve to be held accountable for their money.- Transport Minister Caroline Mulroney McGrann said the committee hoped the 103 recommendations would not only keep the existing LRT network running smoothly, but also guide Stage 2 line extensions. Commission lawyers also criticized the city’s daily summaries, which were sent out during the 19 days of testimony, saying they were unprecedented in a public inquiry. “We need to get back to accountability and transparency with the city of Ottawa, instead of controlling information and spin,” said co-lead councilor John Adair.
City ‘spin’ not seen before in public inquiry, Commission lawyer says
Co-lead councilor John Adair described press briefings from the City of Ottawa during the LRT investigation as “checking and spinning information,” adding that a return to accountability and transparency is needed. Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government called the public inquiry in November 2021 after Ottawa city council voted against a judicial inquiry and agreed to an investigation by the city’s auditor general. In a statement, Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney said the province will review the findings carefully in the coming days. “As a funding partner, provincial taxpayers deserve to be held accountable for their money,” Mulroney wrote. “We will continue to ensure Ontario taxpayers and carriers get the best possible value for their money.” Both the PCs and the previous Liberal government invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the design and construction of both stages of the LRT network, as did the federal government.
LRT lawyer describes failure of city and RTG to work together
Kate McGrann said Ottawa residents and visitors “deserve to have confidence” that the LRT system is safe and reliable. Watson, who oversaw the opening of the line in September 2019 and was accused of perjury and withholding information when he testified to the inquiry this summer, is currently on a “long-planned personal holiday” and will read the report when he returns. former employee told CBC. After the first meeting of the new city council term Wednesday morning, newly elected mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he also had not yet seen the report. Sutcliffe is scheduled to speak to the media later this afternoon.
