Ottawa city manager announces retirement just days before LRT report released
Ottawa city manager Steve Kanellakos has announced he is leaving his role, effective immediately.
In a letter released Monday, Kanellakos said he informed Mayor Mark Sutcliffe of his decision.
“I’m sure there will be speculation about the reasons for my departure at this time. This decision is mine and mine alone. No one asked me to leave. I’ve always deeply believed in leadership accountability. As City Manager, I am ultimately accountable for the performance of the organization. I have always deeply believed that my role is to have your backs and that it is my duty to accept ultimate responsibility for our performance,” he wrote.
The announcement comes just after an in-camera meeting of the new city council discussing legal updates regarding the light rail transit system. It also comes two days before the final report from the public inquiry into Stage 1 of LRT is released. The inquiry looked at the issues that plagued the line and the municipal decisions that led to its launch.
Kanellakos referenced the LRT report in his departure message, saying he suspects it will be critical of the city.
“On Wednesday, November 30th, the LRT Public Inquiry Commission report will be released publicly. I don’t know what the report findings or recommendations will be as we will not receive an advance copy. I do believe, based on the line of questioning and approach taken by the Commission, that the report will be critical of the City of Ottawa and City staff. Despite this, I know that City staff did their best under very difficult circumstances to ensure that the Light Rail System would meet all of our expectations,” he said.
“It is my belief, that this is the time to do the right thing and allow the organization to find a new leader who can deal with implementing the recommendations from the Inquiry unfettered from the long complex history of the project or the findings of the Commission report.”
Kanellakos has been the city manager of the City of Ottawa since 2016. He also served as deputy city manager of operations, and general manager of community and protective services for the city. He also briefly served as city manager for the City of Vaughan in 2015 before becoming Ottawa’s city manager. Prior to his roles within the City of Ottawa, Kanellakos was director of the Gloucester Police Service in the early 1990s and later became Director General of the Ottawa-Carleton Regional Police Service in the years before amalgamation.
During his tenure as city manager, he oversaw the city's response to major environmental disasters, including flooding in 2017 and 2019, the 2018 tornadoes and the 2022 derecho. He was the city manager during the "Freedom Convoy" demonstration, Canada 150 celebrations in Ottawa, and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. He also oversaw the launch of the LRT.
In early 2020, Kanellakos challenged councillors to fire him if they believed the city had not handled the situation properly.
"I am ultimately accountable," Kanellakos said. “Look at the org chart and you’ll see my face on it. I’m accountable to Council; I’m your only employee. If you do believe that we have not done everything possible to improve this system and make this better, move a motion at the next Council to dismiss your city manager.”
No motion to remove him ever came.
The city manager is the city’s chief administrator, and oversees the city’s multi-billion dollar operating budget. In 2021, Kanellakos earned a salary of more than $370,000.
In an email to councillors Monday thanking Kanellakos for his contributions to the city, Sutcliffe said he would move a motion at city council on Wednesday to appoint the city's chief financial officer Wendy Stephanson as acting city manager.
"I would like to thank Wendy for agreeing to take on the role of Acting City Manager and I look forward to working with her and our senior leadership team in the days and months ahead," Sutcliffe wrote.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
ArriveCan contractor to be admonished by MPs in extraordinarily rare parliamentary display
Enacting an extraordinarily rarely used parliamentary power, MPs have summoned an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons on Wednesday afternoon to be admonished publicly for failing to answer their questions.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.