Watson has not considered resigning over LRT fiasco
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson says he has not considered resigning over the ongoing troubles with one of his signature achievements, the Confederation Line LRT.
The line opened in September 2019 to fanfare and celebration, even though it was more than a year later than expected. Within weeks, problems began cropping up on the line, leading to long waits, stuck trains and frustrated customers.
There were numerous full-line shut downs over the course of the pandemic to work out the kinks that came up during the first few months of service on the brand new system, but problems persist.
Then, in August 2021, a train derailed, leading to a five-day closure as crews worked to resolve the problems. Six weeks after that, on Sept. 19, a second derailment crippled the line. It remains out of service to this day, nearly seven weeks later.
When asked by CTV News Ottawa's Patricia Boal in an interview on the CTV News at Six, Watson said he has not thought about resigning and he plans to see the fixes on LRT to their end.
"No, I haven't because I want to make sure the problems are resolved once and for all," he said.
Watson had just presided over a special meeting of council to introduce the draft 2022 budget, which includes a 2.5 per cent fare hike for OC Transpo fares, despite the issues on the LRT and the impact those have had on the transit system.
Watson stressed that the bus system is still operational.
"The rest of the system actually is up and running. There's obviously R1 service, it's supplementary to the rest of the service but the rest of the system is working," he said, while admitting the LRT is "not anywhere near the level of reliability that we are paying for and that we demand" from the Rideau Transit Group, Rideau Transit Maintenance, and Alstom, the train manufacturer.
"We've put tremendous pressure on RTG and RTM and Alstom, the supplier of the trains. We've held back all of their funds because we're not getting any service, we're not going to pay them. That's pretty obvious," the mayor said. "And we're continuing to keep that pressure on by hiring and independent safety advisor that will be reporting out to the public and to the media in the next couple of days with their report and their findings on when we can start the train service."
The city hired Transportation Research Associates (TRA) to independently certify the work performed by RTG and RTM before service can be restored. The target date of Nov. 1 set by RTG to restore partial service has passed, but Watson said he was confident there would be some "good news" in the coming days on a resumption of service on the LRT. The city had anticipated a partial return to service within the first two weeks of November, with full service likely restored by mid-December.
"We continue to put pressure on them and we continue to ensure that we're going to come back with the train system but, first and foremost, it has to be done in a safe and secure fashion," Watson said.
"That's my number one priority as mayor of this city."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
NEW After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
Some Canadian families will receive up to $620 per child today
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
BREAKING Iran fires at apparent Israeli attack drones near Isfahan air base and nuclear site
An apparent Israeli drone attack on Iran saw troops fire air defences at a major air base and a nuclear site early Friday morning near the central city of Isfahan, an assault coming in retaliation for Tehran's unprecedented drone-and-missile assault on the country.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.
Ottawa to force banks to call carbon rebate a carbon rebate in direct deposits
Canadian banks that refuse to identify the carbon rebate by name when doing direct deposits are forcing the government to change the law to make them do it, says Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault.
Ontario woman loses $15,000 to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Prince Harry formally confirms he is now a U.S. resident
Prince Harry, the son of King Charles III and fifth in line to the British throne, has formally confirmed he is now a U.S. resident.
Colin Jost names one celebrity who is great at hosting 'Saturday Night Live'
Colin Jost, who co-anchors Saturday Night Live's 'Weekend Update,' revealed who he thinks is one of the best hosts on the show.
Nearly half of China's major cities are sinking, researchers say
Nearly half of China's major cities are suffering 'moderate to severe' levels of subsidence, putting millions at risk of flooding especially as sea levels rise.