City hall protesters demand answers on OC Transpo
About 100 people gathered at Ottawa City Hall, calling for city staff to be open and transparent about issues with Ottawa's transit system.
Coun. Diane Deans and Catherine McKenney organized the rally after Transit Commission Chair Allan Hubley rejected calls for a special Transit Commission meeting to discuss "critical reliability and safety issues."
Councillors Riley Brockington, Carol Anne Meehan, Shawn Menard and Rawlson King and transit commissioner Sarah Wright-Gilbert were among the people attending the rally Wednesday morning.
Two weeks ago, Ottawa's 23-month-old light rail transit system was shutdown for a week after an axle on one train broke and derailed. OC Transpo's double-decker buses were pulled off the road for inspections after one bus drove into a ditch.
Transportation Services General Manager John Manconi has been providing updates near daily on the investigation and answering questions from councillors on the issues.
Coun. McKenney told the rally that the city should not be "governing by memo", and taxpayers deserve answers during a public meeting.
"Those billions of dollars are theirs. And they have every right to be at the table to hear the discussion and questions being asked and answers," said McKenney.
Marena Schulist was one of the few dozen people attending the rally, frustrated with Ottawa's LRT system.
"I have had to switch to one side of the track to the other because something has broken down," said Schulist. "I've gotten stuck. I've had to call into work and say I may not be on time."
Hubley is on vacation this week. In a statement to CTV News Ottawa, Hubley addressed criticism from some councillors that OC Transpo is withholding information.
"It is unfortunate that some would want to suggest information is being withheld from council and the public with zero evidence to support such a claim," said Hubley.
"This tells me the reputation of council and the hard-working men and women of OC Transpo and our partners in this review is being sacrificed to political grandstand and that is frankly very sad and uncalled for."
Speaking on CTV Morning Live Wednesday morning, McKenney said they are concerned the "resistance to a public meeting will certainly erode public's trust and our trust with what's happening with our transit system."
The Transit Commission is scheduled to meet on Sept. 20.
"There's absolutely no reason why we shouldn't be sitting down in a public forum and asking the types of questions that we need to be asking," said McKenney.
"We're responsible for the oversight of this system. The buck does stop with us in the end."
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.
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs to start for Canucks in Game 1 vs. Oilers
Rookie goalie Arturs Silovs will start in net for the Canucks as Vancouver kicks off a second-round series against the Edmonton Oilers Wednesday night.
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.