Ontario to set Ottawa LRT inquiry terms within weeks: Mulroney

OTTAWA -

Ontario’s transportation minister says the province plans to establish the terms of reference for its public inquiry into Ottawa’s problem-plagued LRT system “in the coming weeks.”

Caroline Mulroney says before the province moves forward with funding Stage 2 of the project, “we need to understand what went wrong with Stage 1.”

“We’re going to determine the scope, we’re going to set out the terms of reference, but the key is to get recommendations before we proceed with Stage 2,” she told Newstalk 580 CFRA’s The Morning Rush with Bill Carroll on Thursday. “People in Ottawa want answers as quickly as possible.”

Cabinet voted Wednesday to launch the full public inquiry into the LRT system, which was shut down for two months this fall after a derailment on Sept. 19.

Along with setting out the scope, the province will also identify a commissioner to run the inquiry in the coming weeks, Mulroney said.

She later told reporters at Queen’s Park that she hopes to have recommendations in the new year. The inquiry will look into the safety of the trains, technical elements, value for money and accountability, including examining the procurement process.

She said she has friends in Ottawa whose children have been stranded when trains don’t arrive and have been late for school.

“We’ve been concerned about it for some time,” she said. “We’ve just decided we need to focus on what the root causes are of the chronic problems that have been plaguing Stage 1 before we move forward.”

Mulroney said the province will foot the bill for the inquiry, but did not say how much it might cost.

“The people of the city of Ottawa have been living with a system for two years now that’s not working,” she said. “They want answers. They deserve a system that works.”

The province pledged $600 million for Stage 1 of LRT and is set to contribute $1.2 billion to Stage 2.

Mayor to province: ‘Stop surprising us’

Mayor Jim Watson said he supports the province’s public inquiry, but suggested he felt blindsided by Wednesday’s announcement.

“The province has not once in the last two years expressed any interest or concern about our system,” he said. “My only request to the province is: please stop surprising us. Let us know in advance when you’re going to make a decision that affects our taxpayers.”

“I’ve received no official word from the ministry of transportation, and as a partner I expect that this kind of communication should be free-flowing on both sides.”

Mulroney said provincial officials have been in contact with the mayor’s office in the past few months.

“We’ve been in contact back and forth with the mayor’s office over just a lot of the issues that have arisen over the past few months,” she said. “And so he knows that the province has been concerned.”

Ottawa city councillors voted earlier this month against holding a judicial inquiry into the LRT, and instead have the city’s auditor general investigate.

Watson said Thursday he still believes the auditor general’s report will be the best way to get answers about the LRT, and that work will continue.

The auditor general said she’s waiting to see the public inquiry’s terms of reference before deciding whether to continue with her investigation.

"With the recent news of the province’s decision to launch a Public Inquiry, my Office is reviewing the best way we can continue to add value while being prudent with tax payer dollars," Nathalie Gougeon said in a statement to CTV News Ottawa.

"It is too soon for my Office to make a decision on its next course of action until we have further information from the province on the potential scope of the work they will be undertaking.

Gougeon previously said the goal was to present at least the first part of her audit to the city by June.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Josh Pringle