A consultant who was deeply involved in the design of Ottawa’s light rail system faced questions Monday in the LRT public inquiry about whether his family and political ties led to his key role in the city’s rail office. The Railway Committee’s co-chairman’s methodical report set out Brian Guest’s work history, which included work for former mayor Bob Chiarelli and Mayor Jim Watson’s transition team as he took office in 2010. Attorney John Adair also found that Guest had worked for the waste power company Plasco, a job that Guest did not explicitly mention in the CV he submitted to the investigation, Adair said. Adair also outlined Guest’s family ties to the city, noting that his sister, Robyn Guest, worked in the office of former city manager Kent Kirkpatrick and currently works in Watson’s office. Robyn’s husband, Chris Swail, was also the chief of staff to the city’s deputy director, Nancy Schepers, the city’s rail office told her when Guest and Boxfish were hired to advise the city on LRT in 2011. Adair also sought to link Guest’s work with Plasco to family ties. The company received $ 4 million from the county in 2007, when Watson was the county council minister who announced the grant, and then ten years ago Plasco signed a $ 120 million conditional deal with the city. Do you agree? The circumstances under which you obtained this contract raise at least some questions about how you got engaged. ” – Lawyer John Adair The investigation found out on Monday that Guest even participated in meetings for Plasco, while also making separate contracts for the city. The Schepers department also oversaw waste management. The visitor was also consulted in 2010 and 2011 about the city budget. Brian Guest, of Boxfish Consulting, has left, facing questioning in the LRT public inquiry on June 27, 2022 by co-lead consultant John Adair. (Ottawa Tram Commission Video Streaming) “So at the time you got the light rail contract in 2011, your brother-in-law was Ms Schepers’ chief of staff and your sister was working for Mr Kirkpatrick?” Adair asked. “That’s right,” Guest replied. “And do you agree with me now, sir, that the circumstances under which you got this contract raise at least some questions about how you got engaged?” Adair asked. “I do not,” said Guest. “I mean, I understand you mean that, but I do not think there is a substance to it.”
Successive contacts awarded with a visitor
Guest and his company, Boxfish, applied in 2011 to be added to the city’s so-called standing bid list – a list of companies from which the city could hire companies without a bid if the contract value was less than 150,000 $. Boxfish was hired for subsequent contracts for about six months at a time for just under $ 150,000 at a time. The investigation found that Guest made about $ 600,000 in consulting in the first phase of the Confederation Line by the fall of 2013, although he and Boxfish would later sign a Stage 2 deal for up to $ 2 million. Pedestrians try to get off on Queen Street on August 18, 2016 during the construction of the LRT. City staff have credited Brian Guest with suggesting he travel to the tunnel below Queen Street, at a shallower depth. (Hillary Johnstone / CBC) Guest testified that he was invited by former railroad director John Jensen to advise the city in 2011 when he appeared to have a “slavish” focus on digging the tunnel along a much deeper, different route that could cost an extra billion dollars. City staff have credited him for proposing to travel the tunnel down Queen Street to a shallower depth. Adair cited a 2013 letter the Visitor sent to the city, in which he said “Boxfish innovations” would lead to rewards – innovations such as tunnel change and geotechnical risk transfer to the private partner. But the commission adviser asked why the city needed Guest know-how, if it was already paying millions to Deloitte for financial advice and millions more to Capital Transit Partners – including STV Inc. Aecom and Morrison Hershfield – for engineering. The visitor had no experience in public-private partnerships in 2011, Adair said. Guest explained that he had a “master class” from a former head of federal procurement, Arthur Silverman, and that he acted as a facilitator because he knew town hall and politics. “Mr. Jensen, Ms. Schepers and Mr. Kirkpatrick thought I had the necessary skills and invited me to play an important role that I felt perfectly qualified to do,” Guest said, adding that both his sister and his brother -The law brought integrity to their work.
Critical e-mails become evidence
Dozens of documents have been recorded as evidence during the public hearings, and on Monday they saw three more email chains about Guest. An e-mail chain saw Infrastructure Ontario executives commenting negatively on Guest when CBC reported that he had returned to Swail’s office. A second e-mail chain among Capital Transit Partners members suggested that the city wanted Boxfish to carry out the Stage 2 supply. Then comes the email b / w Aecom and Morrison Hershfield companies (Capital Transit Partners). Stage 2. (Chris Swail asks to be called.) Hershfield to Aecom: “You see what’s going on, the city wants Boxfish to carry out the supply and you’re being pressured” pic.twitter.com/3BZeRKb6s0 – @ KatePorterCBC And of course, the committee asked Guest about the personal e-mail he wrote to Chiarelli last fall, where he said an investigation would “screw” him. Guest explained to the committee, as he did on CBC when he first e-mailed, that he was concerned about Chiarelli’s legacy and the time and energy that an investigation would require. “It was strictly because I’m an individual, I do not enjoy being in that environment,” Guest told the committee, pointing out that he was working on “$ 100 billion Toronto venture capital projects” through Metrolinx. provincial transit agency.
RTG has a problem with the visitor e-mail
At times, testimony in public inquiries has come close to reporting on the tram lawsuits and claims currently in court. Linda Rothstein, RTG’s lawyer, drew attention to a part of Chiarelli’s e-mail where Guest wrote that the problems with LRT were “a failure of the private sector partner to properly design and build and maintain the system – clean and simple. ” Guest went on to say that companies had to be held accountable, adding that “it really sucks that this system was unstable and the consortium failed to respond properly” and that RTG “should lose its shirt and we should bankrupt them.” sue them and spend what is needed to correct what is wrong with their penny “. Boxfish has been advising the city on major construction claims, and Rothstein has accused him of encouraging the city to “play tough ball” with RTG. Guest said he was “moderate” on the subject and was not a major player in figuring out how to get RTG to perform. On Tuesday, the investigation will hear from STV consultant Thomas Prendergast in the morning and the city’s former general manager, John Manconi.
title: “Lrt Lawyer Asks About Brian Guest S Political And Family Ties " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-20” author: “Sarah Jorgensen”
A consultant who was deeply involved in the design of Ottawa’s light rail system faced questions Monday in the LRT public inquiry about whether his family and political ties led to his key role in the city’s rail office. The Railway Committee’s co-chairman’s methodical report set out Brian Guest’s work history, which included work for former mayor Bob Chiarelli and Mayor Jim Watson’s transition team as he took office in 2010. Attorney John Adair also found that Guest had worked for the waste power company Plasco, a job that Guest did not explicitly mention in the CV he submitted to the investigation, Adair said. Adair went on to describe Guest’s family ties to the city, noting that his sister, Robyn Guest, worked in the office of former city manager Kent Kirkpatrick and is currently working in Watson’s office. Robyn’s husband, Chris Swail, was also the chief of staff to the city’s deputy director, Nancy Schepers, the city’s rail office told her when Guest and Boxfish were hired to advise the city on LRT in 2011. Adair also sought to link Guest’s work with Plasco to family ties. The company received $ 4 million from the county in 2007, when Watson was the county council minister who announced the grant. Then, 10 years ago, Plasco signed a $ 120 million conditional deal with the city. Do you agree… the circumstances under which you obtained this contract raise at least some questions about how you ended the engagement? “- John Adair, Lawyer The investigation found out on Monday that Guest even participated in meetings for Plasco, while also making separate contracts for the city. The Schepers department also oversaw waste management. The visitor was also consulted in 2010 and 2011 about the city budget. Brian Guest, of Boxfish Consulting, has left, facing questioning in the LRT public inquiry on June 27, 2022 by co-lead consultant John Adair. (Ottawa Tram Commission Video Streaming) “So at the time you got the light rail contract in 2011, your brother-in-law was Ms Schepers’ chief of staff and your sister was working for Mr Kirkpatrick?” Adair asked. “That’s right,” Guest replied. “And do you agree with me now, sir, that the circumstances under which you got this contract raise at least some questions about how you got engaged?” Adair asked. “I do not,” said Guest. “I mean, I understand you mean that, but I do not think there is a substance to it.”
Successive contacts awarded with a visitor
Guest and Boxfish applied in 2011 to be added to the city’s so-called standing bid list – a list of companies from which the city could hire companies without a bid if the contract was worth less than $ 150,000. Boxfish was hired for subsequent contracts for about six months at a time for just under $ 150,000 at a time. The investigation revealed that Guest made about $ 600,000 in consulting in the first phase of the Confederation Line by the fall of 2013. He and Boxfish would later sign a Stage 2 deal for up to $ 2 million. Pedestrians try to get off on Queen Street on August 18, 2016 during the construction of the LRT. City staff have credited Brian Guest with suggesting he travel to the tunnel below Queen Street, at a shallower depth. (Hillary Johnstone / CBC) Guest testified that he was invited by former railroad director John Jensen to advise the city in 2011 when he appeared to have a “slavish” focus on digging the tunnel along a much deeper, different route that could cost an extra billion dollars. City staff have credited him for proposing to travel the tunnel down Queen Street to a shallower depth. Adair cited a 2013 letter the Visitor sent to the city, in which he said “Boxfish innovations” would lead to rewards – innovations such as tunnel change and geotechnical risk transfer to the private partner. However, the commission adviser asked why the city needed Guest know-how if it was already paying millions to Deloitte for financial advice and millions more to Capital Transit Partners – including STV Inc., Aecom and Morrison Hershfield – for engineering. The visitor had no experience in public-private partnerships in 2011, Adair said. Guest explained that he had a “master class” from a former head of federal procurement, Arthur Silverman, and that he acted as a facilitator because he knew town hall and politics. “Mr. Jensen, Ms. Schepers and Mr. Kirkpatrick thought I had the necessary skills and invited me to play an important role that I felt perfectly qualified to do,” Guest said, adding that both his sister and his brother -The law brought integrity to their work.
Critical emails become evidence
Dozens of documents have been registered as evidence during the public hearings, and on Monday they saw three more email chains about Guest. Someone saw Infrastructure Ontario executives comment negatively on Guest when CBC reported that he had returned to the Swail’s office. A second email chain between Capital Transit Partners members suggested that the city wanted Boxfish to carry out the Stage 2 supply. Then comes the email b / w Aecom and Morrison Hershfield companies (Capital Transit Partners). Stage 2. (Chris Swail asks to be called.) Hershfield to Aecom: “You see what’s going on, the city wants Boxfish to carry out the supply and you’re being pressured” pic.twitter.com/3BZeRKb6s0 – @ KatePorterCBC And of course, the committee asked Guest about the personal email he wrote to Chiarelli last fall, where he said an investigation would “screw” him. Guest explained to the committee, as he did on CBC when he first mentioned in the email, that he was concerned about Chiarelli’s legacy and the time and energy that an investigation would require. “It was strictly because I’m an individual, I do not like being in that environment,” Guest told the committee, pointing out that he was working on “$ 100 billion Toronto capital projects” through the Provincial Metrolinx transit agency.
RTG has a problem with guest email
At times, testimony in public inquiries has come close to reporting on the tram lawsuits and claims currently in court. Linda Rothstein, RTG’s lawyer, drew attention to a part of Chiarelli’s email where Guest wrote that the problems with LRT were “a failure of the private sector partner to properly design and build and maintain the system – clean and simple “. Guest went on to say that companies had to be held accountable, adding that “it really sucks that this system was unstable and the consortium failed to respond properly” and that RTG “should lose its shirt and we should bankrupt them.” sue them and spend what is needed to correct what is wrong with their penny “. Boxfish has been advising the city on major construction claims, and Rothstein has accused him of encouraging the city to “play tough ball” with RTG. Guest said he was “moderate” on the subject and was not a major player in figuring out how to get RTG to perform. On Tuesday, the investigation will hear from STV consultant Thomas Prendergast in the morning and former city general manager John Manconi in the afternoon.
