Calls for judicial inquiry into LRT grow louder ahead of council meeting
Calls for a judicial inquiry into Ottawa's Confederation Line light rail system are growing louder ahead of a key vote at Ottawa City Council.
Councillors meet Wednesday to vote on the issue. Also up for debate is whether to rip up the 30-year maintenance contract with Rideau Transit Maintenance.
"We have the right to know why these sorts of things, like derailments and things like that, that make people feel unsafe on transit, keep happening," said Sam Hersh of Horizon Ottawa. "We should at least see what it is, see what it takes and see if we can get a better deal for the residents of Ottawa because at the end of the day that's what everyone wants."
The city solicitor sent a memo ahead of the meeting, saying that judicial inquiries can be incredibly expensive, up to $20 million in some cases, that they may not provide the answers people are seeking, and that there's no timeline for their completion.
"Doing nothing far outweighs the cost of an inquiry," said Coun. Catherine McKenney, who is putting forward the motion to hold an inquiry. "We have spent over six billion dollars on our rail system in this city; we do not have one train on a track today."
A rally in support of holding a judicial inquiry was held at Ottawa City Hall Tuesday afternoon.
Repairs are underway at the site of the Sept. 19 derailment near Tremblay station. A safety review continues and there is no date for when service could resume.
"To understand why that is the case, why we ended up with a system that's dysfunctional as we're building out the rest of the system is absolutely critical," McKenney added.
With the LRT offline, R1 buses have been shuttling passengers the length of the line. Some residents of Hintonburg say they're unhappy to see the buses back on the streets for so long.
"All of a sudden the buses are running up and down in front of my house again, rattling my house and creating cracks in my walls," said Cindy Richard.
Other residents point to fencing put up over the weekend beside Tom Brown Arena.
"We're locked out of our community for LRT parking when there's a huge parking lot just the other side of Scott street that's about three times or four times the size of this and closer to the LRT, so why don't they park there?" asks Cheryl Parrott.
Residents say it's another frustrating aspect of the LRT.
"It's not what the developers want, it's what Hintonburg needs and we need our greenspace," Richard said.
A separate rally was held Tuesday afternoon at Tom Brown Arena to protest the fencing and the loss of green space.
Speaking on Newstalk 580 CFRA, Coun. Allan Hubley, the chair of the transit commission, said he hoped to have new information by the end of this week or early next week on when the Confederation Line will return to service.
Hubley also apologized for the troubles with the R1 service.
"It was never designed to operate for this length of time," Hubley said. "The shutdown had to be done to allow the Transportation Safety Board to conduct a thorough investigation but it wasn't easy on our riders and, for that, I apologize."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
'Sophisticated' cyberattacks detected on B.C. government networks, premier says
There has been a "sophisticated" cybersecurity breach detected on B.C. government networks, Premier David Eby confirmed Wednesday evening.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
Canucks claw out 5-4 comeback win over Oilers in Game 1
Dakota Joshua had a goal and two assists and the Vancouver Canucks scored three third-period goals to claw out a 5-4 comeback victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday.
Nijjar murder suspect says he had Canadian study permit in immigration firm's video
One of the Indian nationals accused of murdering British Columbia Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar says in a social media video that he received a Canadian study permit with the help of an Indian immigration consultancy.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.