City of Ottawa auditor general pauses LRT probe
Ottawa’s auditor general is pausing her probe into the city’s light rail transit system because a provincial inquiry will cover similar material, she announced Wednesday.
Nathalie Gougeon said in a memo to council that she and her team have reviewed the scope of the province’s work and determined it would be best to “press pause” on the work her office has started.
“This would allow us to alleviate any excess burden placed on the City’s administration caused by two, very large, concurrent reviews of similar nature,” she said in the memo.
“It will also ensure we do not duplicate work performed by the Commissioner through the course of the provincial inquiry.”
City council voted in October to ask the auditor general to investigate the procurement and implementation of LRT Stage 1, in light of two derailments in six weeks and other problems with the project since its Sept. 2019 launch.
The move was instead of launching a judicial inquiry, which some councillors had been pushing for.
However, the province later stepped in and announced it would launch a public inquiry into Stage 1.
Last week, they announced appeal court judge Justice William Hourigan would lead the inquiry, which will examine “the commercial and technical circumstances that led to the breakdown and derailment” of Stage 1.
Gougeon said she will reassess in the coming months whether any items that the provincial inquiry doesn’t cover will need to be reviewed by her office.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Bodies recovered in Mexico likely 2 Australians, 1 American who went missing: officials
Three bodies recovered in an area of Baja California are likely to be those of the two Australians and an American who went missing last weekend during a camping and surfing trip, the state prosecutor’s office said Saturday.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
London Drugs begins 'gradual reopening' on 7th day after cyberattack
Almost a week after all London Drugs stores across Western Canada abruptly closed amid a cyberattack, they began a "gradual reopening" on Saturday.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.