Ottawa Mayor Larry O'Brien says if contract negotiations with the city's transit union come to a head again, he plans to lock out OC Transpo workers in warmer weather to avoid another transit strike in the middle of winter.
"I can guarantee you, I will never let the citizens of Ottawa go through a winter strike again," he said in an interview with Rogers Ottawa on Tuesday.
"Quite frankly, a strike in the summer -- when the weather's good and people can bike and walk -- is a whole lot better than what we went through last winter."
The mayor's promise was a surprise to many, including Ottawa labour leader Sean McKenny, who called O'Brien's statements "incredibly asinine."
The mayor's comments come one week after the one-year anniversary of a public transit strike that gripped the capital for 53 days in the dead of winter.
The strike brought out stories of hardship and created challenges for some residents in terms of going about everyday life. Some lost jobs; others were forced to cancel visits with family members during the holidays.
The strike ended up costing the city $5.9 million, according to the latest report from the city's auditor general. The hefty bill was due to a combination of decreased revenue, money spent on contingency plans and financial penalties for OC Transpo's bus fuel contract.
More than 2,300 bus drivers, dispatchers and mechanics walked off the job on Dec. 10, 2008. At the time, they had been working without a contract since April.
