Ottawa city council to hold special meeting ahead of LRT inquiry final report

The first meeting of the new Ottawa city council will be held days before the public inquiry into the city’s LRT system releases its final report.

Mayor Mark Sutcliffe has called a special meeting for Monday at 10 a.m.  Most of the meeting will be closed to the public as councillors discuss litigation matters related to Stage 1 of LRT.

The final report of the commission, which looked into the breakdowns and derailments that plagued Stage 1 after it launched in September 2019, will be released on Wednesday, the commission announced earlier this week.

A memo from City Manager Steve Kanellakos on Friday said the city will formally receive the report “as soon as practicable to allow for public delegations.”

City staff will also provide a companion report which will offer recommended next steps in response. However, it’s not clear when exactly that report will be ready.

“The timing of the Public Inquiry’s Final Report is challenging due to the transition from one term of Council to the next,” Kanellakos said. “In addition, Staff will need time to review the findings of the recommendations regarding this very complex file.”

Justice William Hourigan will present his findings from the inquiry, which heard from 41 witnesses over 18 days of testimony, on Wednesday at 11 a.m.

"We made a commitment to the people of Ottawa. We said we would find out why problems occurred in the construction and maintenance of the LRT, and how to avoid these in the future," Hourigan said in a statement earlier this week. 

"I believe we have done that."