Council looks to dissolve subcommittee overseeing LRT construction
Light rail subcommittee created after scathing public inquiry report into problems with Line 1
Ottawa city council is looking at plans to dissolve a subcommittee that oversees LRT construction.
The light rail subcommittee was created about a week after Justice William Hourigan released his scathing public inquiry report into the problems surrounding the opening of Line 1.
- 'Egregious violations of public trust': LRT rushed into service, commission finds
- Mayor Sutcliffe pledges accountability in wake of scathing LRT inquiry report
The subcommittee receives regular updates on the progress of ongoing construction work. It was responsible for overseeing the city's action plan in response to the public inquiry report, though that role wrapped up last year when staff noted that just a few items remained and transit commission could take over that work.
A wide-ranging report on proposed changes to council's governance structure released this week recommends dissolving the subcommittee and collapsing its remaining work into the transit commission, which will be renamed the transit committee. Council will debate and vote on the changes next week.
The report said the subcommittee "has largely achieved its mandate," even as substantial work remains outstanding to expand Line 1. The north-south Lines 2 and 4 are now open, but work on the east extension through Orléans is expected to run into the summer, while the western extension to Moodie and Algonquin stations isn't expected to open to passengers until 2027.
Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he doesn't believe the subcommittee's demise will compromise oversight.
"The light rail subcommittee was formed in large part to respond to the recommendations from the public inquiry that came out in late 2022, and a lot of that work has been done," he said following a council meeting on Wednesday.
"The remainder of that work is ongoing and continuous going forward. We consulted with members of council and with city staff, and the feeling was that the work could continue under the transit commission going forward."
Councillors facing heavy workload
The report further explained that city councillors have faced a heavy committee workload and are looking to streamline the committee structure in order to focus more time on constituency work. For the same reason, it also recommends reducing the frequency of meetings for most other committees from eight to six per year.
A December 2022 motion introduced by Coun. Steve Desroches and seconded by Mayor Mark Sutcliffe to create the subcommittee said it was "critically important" that LRT projects receive "specific, focused attention by Council to enhance public accountability and transparency."
It said subcommittees provide "increased and focused review and public input at critical stages throughout the duration of a project or initiative."
Desroches became the chair of the subcommittee. On Wednesday, he agreed with Sutcliffe that the transit committee can handle oversight as the east and west expansions go forward.
"We've accomplished a great deal of work over the last two years. One of the big jobs of this committee was to follow up on the recommendations of the commission of inquiry," he said. "We've done that. We are following up and carrying out the recommendations... It's part of our day-to-day work now as a city. So that big piece is now behind us."
Justice Hourigan's report found that the mayor and senior city staff withheld information on the LRT's progress from city council, preventing them from fulfilling their oversight duties. It found the system was rushed into service, resulting in a flawed LRT that lost public trust.
The report found the project suffered from a lack of planning, oversight and communication. It recommended that council must be provided with timely, complete and accurate information about infrastructure projects.
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