Ontario government threatens to withhold $60-million in LRT funding

The Ontario government is threatening to withhold light rail transit (LRT) funding if issues with Ottawa's Confederation Line are not resolved.

In a letter to the City of Ottawa on Wednesday, November 3, the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) asked for assurances that province's funds are being used for a safe system and requested updates on issues, including cracked wheels and derailments.

The province is threatening to withhold a $60-million payment if it doesn't get confirmation that three issues under investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) have been addressed.

Before the money can be released, the MTO says it needs the following in writing from the city:

• 1) Confirmation that the TSB investigation into cracked wheels (started in July of 2020) is completed, and an attestation that the City has either addressed any of the TSB recommendations that came out of the investigation or has developed a plan to address these recommendations. The City will submit its confirmation, attestation, and any plan it has developed to the Ministry by December 31, 2022.
• 2) Confirmation that the TSB reviews into the August 2021 and September 2021 derailments are completed, and an attestation that the City has either addressed any of the TSB recommendations that came out of the reviews or has developed a plan to address these recommendations. The City will submit its confirmation, attestation, and any plan it has developed by December 31, 2022.
• 3) An attestation from an Independent Engineer, using the form provided in Schedule G.3. This attestation will be in addition to that received from the Altus Group on February 20, 2020 which was before the 3 issues that became the subject of the TSB investigations arose. For greater clarity, the attestation will confirm that the requirements set out in Subsection 13.16 b) of the Agreement, namely that the City has undertaken, or caused to be undertaken, the engineering and construction work, in accordance with industry standards.

The office of Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson has responded to CityNews Ottawa's request for comment, confirming the letter from MTO was received.

“The letter appears to be standard due diligence by the province,” said Watson's Press Secretary Patrick Champagne. “The city has already undertaken to address all issues raised in the letter. Mayor Watson has asked the City Manager to review the letter and to provide a more fulsome update to council and the public in the coming days.”

The province has committed up to $600-million for Stage 1 of LRT, and up to $1.208-billion for Stage 2.