City of Ottawa escalates legal pressure on LRT contractor
The city of Ottawa is ratcheting up the pressure on its LRT contractor, with a key committee voting to issue a notice of default to Rideau Transit Group after two derailments in six weeks.
In addition, the city’s finance committee voted to deliver a ‘notice of dispute,’ which could result in more legal fighting.
Councillors voted after more than three hours meeting behind closed doors with legal counsel.
The Confederation Line has been shut down since the second derailment on Sept. 19. The city issued the notice of default on Sept. 24, but it was only made public today.
"This should set off a bunch of alarm bells for them because it's no longer a dispute just between us," transit commission chair Allan Hubley told Newstalk 580 CFRA. "If this ends up in court that means a judge is going to make a ruling, and hopefully rule in favour of the city and our ridership. And say that we deserve better, we paid for better, we should be getting better."
The ‘notice of dispute’ is essentially the city signaling it’s not satisfied with RTG’s response, and could take more legal action.
"This is RTG's problem to solve and if RTG continues to abdicate its responsibilities the City will need to take the strongest possible actions under the Project Agreement and at law," said a Sept. 24 letter from the city to RTG released Tuesday.
RTG is also replacing its vehicle maintenance manager, according to a memo to council. The scathing seven-page letter details the city's problems with the maintenance of the vehicles, rather than the vehicles themselves.
"The city's confidence in RTG's ability to deliver the maintenance services has been seriously eroded."
This is not the first notice of default the city has issued RTG a default notice. It issued one in March 2020 after myriad problems with the train in its first year of service. Millions of dollars have been spent on that legal fight.
Council will still need to approve the moves at its next meeting on Oct. 13.
The moves on Tuesday fall short of the actions some other councillors are calling for, also scheduled to be discussed at council next week.
Coun. Diane Deans is asking city staff to report on the cost of scrapping the 30-year maintenance contract with Rideau Transit Maintenance, RTG’s maintenance arm.
And Coun. Catherine McKenney is pushing for a public judicial inquiry into the LRT procurement process.
“Taxpayers paid $2.1 billion for this system, and they want to know what went wrong,” McKenney told CTV Morning Live on Tuesday. “What was in that contract, and what were the decsions made between then and today that have led us to a place where we don’t have a functioning rail system?”
McKenney estimated an inquiry could cost up to one million dollars, but in the context of the $2.1 billion project, said it’s worth it.
“At this point, the public certainly doesn’t have the confidence that they need in our transit system to continue to support it,” they said. “We have a system that is dysfunctional, that simply in two years has never worked consistently, and the issues are only getting worse.”
There is still no timeline on when LRT service will resume.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Town of Fort Nelson, B.C., ordered to evacuate due to wildfire
The entire town of Fort Nelson, B.C., as well as the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has been ordered to evacuate due to an out-of-control wildfire.
Bouchard lifts Edmonton Oilers to 4-3 overtime win over Canucks in Game 2
Evan Bouchard scored 5:38 into overtime and the Edmonton Oilers bounced back for a 4-3 win over the Vancouver Canucks in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Video shows naked raccoon catching B.C. family by surprise
When Marvin Henschel spotted a strange and hairless creature wandering through a front lawn in B.C.'s Lower Mainland, he could barely believe his eyes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Out-of-control wildfire prompts evacuation alert for Fort McMurray, Saprae Creek Estates Friday night
An evacuation alert was issued for two Wood Buffalo communities Friday night, as crews battled an out-of-control wildfire near Fort McMurray.