Ford: Ottawa LRT project 'stunk to high heaven'
Fallout from the damning Ottawa LRT public inquiry report continued on Thursday, with Premier Doug Ford saying the project "stunk to high heaven" and that senior city of Ottawa officials did a "terrible job."
Ford's government called the inquiry headed by Justice William Hourigan, which released its final report on Wednesday. The report said the construction and maintenance of the Confederation Line was plagued by persistent failures in leadership and saw "egregious violations of the public trust" by senior city staff and Rideau Transit Group.
On Thursday, Ford called a lot of the findings of the report "frustrating."
"We saw Mayor Watson not being transparent with his councillors. We saw the city manager having to step down. It was just absolute in shambles, and stunk to high heaven," he told reporters in Toronto. "Thank goodness we did the inquiry."
"I think they did a terrible job," he added. "Mayor Watson—I'm being very frank here—wasn't transparent, he didn't oversee the project properly, and he's gone and so is the city manager and some other people that worked on it. They high-tailed out of there because they knew it was a disaster. And the people of Ottawa knew it was a disaster.
"The people of Ottawa finally have an answer."
Hourigan's report listed myriad reasons behind the problems with the $2.1-billion project. But he singled out former city manager Steve Kanellakos for what he called a "deliberate effort" to mislead council, and Watson and former transit chief John Manconi for hiding information from council.
Kanellakos resigned on Monday ahead of the report's release. Manconi retired last year. Watson did not run for re-election in October - his spokesman said Wednesday he is on a trip out of town.
Hourigan's report found, among other things, that the city chose unproven technology for the trains, RTG didn't coordinate the work of its subcontractors, the city rushed the LRT system into service before it was ready due to political pressure, and RTG and its subcontractors did not provide adequate maintenance.
Former councillor calls for apologies, resignation
Former transit chair Diane Deans called on Watson to apologize and for Coun. Allan Hubley, her successor as transit chair, to resign from council.
"In all of my years, I have never seen a report so damning of city hall," she told Newstalk 580 CFRA on Wednesday. "The people responsible for this, they need to be held to account. I know most of them jumped off the ship before it sunk. But in my estimation, Allan Hubley can no longer sit at the council table and make decisions. He has lost the public trust, he has breached it.
"He needs to do the right thing today and tender his resignation, and if he doesn't, council needs to ask for it."
Deans also pointed to Coun. Riley Brockington, who said on Twitter a colleague on council is still chewing him out for supporting the LRT public inquiry.
"I just found that unbelievable," Deans said. "That some members of council still sitting at that table now think the problem is with those of us who were seeking accountability, transparency, and honesty at city hall, and that if we'd all just shut up about it, the public would never know.
"These are public dollars…and this is a breach of public trust."
Deans also called on the current council to ask for an extension of the public inquiry to look at Stage 2, which is currently under construction and behind schedule.
"This council has an opportunity to do the right thing," she said. "If they don’t, then they’re missing the point. There’s been significant erosion of public trust."
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said Wednesday he has asked city staff to develop a plan to implement the report's key recommendations.
Catherine McKenney, a former councillor and mayoral candidate, said they found the report "discouraging and unfortunate, but not surprising."
"We knew that we had been misled. We knew that that train had not operated for anywhere near 12 days. And we always knew that the culture at the city of Ottawa that had been created by the former mayor was one that left people out of decision-making," McKenney told CTV News.
"I think that people in this city should be worried. We really do have an erosion in trust at our city."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
An El Nino-less summer is coming. Here's what that could mean for Canada
As Canadians brace themselves for summer temperatures, forecasters say a weakening El Nino cycle doesn’t mean relief from the heat.
Stamp prices rise for the third time in five years amid financial woes for Canada Post
Canada Post is increasing stamp prices for the third time since 2019, a move the Crown corporation says is a "reality" of its sales-based revenue structure.
NDP calls out Conservatives for effort to squash pharmacare legislation
The federal New Democrats are calling out Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and his party for trying to block the bill that could pave the way for millions of Canadians to access birth control and diabetes coverage.
Winnipeg man admits to killing four women, argues he's not criminally responsible
Defence lawyers of Jeremy Skibicki have admitted in court the accused killed four Indigenous women, but argues he is not criminally responsible for the deaths by way of mental disorder – this latest development has triggered a judge-alone trial rather than a jury trial.
Mediterranean staple may lower your risk of death from dementia, study finds
A daily spoonful of olive oil could lower your risk of dying from dementia, according to a new study by Harvard scientists.
Ontario MPP asked again to leave Ontario legislature over keffiyeh, Speaker loosens ban
An Ontario MPP was asked again to leave the Ontario legislature on Monday for wearing a keffiyeh, a garment that was banned by the Speaker last month due to its political symbolism.
WATCH Avian flu: Risk to humans grows as outbreaks spread, warns expert
H5N1 or avian flu is decimating wildlife around the world and is now spreading among cattle in the United States, sparking concerns about 'pandemic potential' for humans. Now a health expert is urging Canada to scale up surveillance north of the border.
Trudeau Liberals to unveil new bill Monday aimed at countering foreign interference
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc will be tabling legislation on Monday aimed at countering foreign interference in Canada. Federal officials have scheduled a technical briefing on the incoming bill for Monday afternoon.
Human remains were found at a former Hitler base, but decay prevents determining the cause of death
Polish prosecutors have discontinued an investigation into human skeletons found at a site where German dictator Adolf Hitler and other Nazi leaders spent time during the Second World War because the advanced state of decay made it impossible to determine the cause of death, a spokesman said Monday.