Ottawa-Centre MPP hoping public inquiry into LRT will examine both Stage 1 and 2
Posted Nov 23, 2021 12:08:00 PM.
As the Ontario government moves ahead with a public inquiry into Ottawa's light-rail system, the MPP for Ottawa Centre is hoping the investigation will be ambitious and “turn over every stone.”
Ottawa Centre NDP MPP Joel Harden hopes the public inquiry will not only look into Stage 1 of the light rail system's construction, but what is being put in place for Stage 2.
“There's at least three lawsuits going on against [Rideau Transit Group (RTG)], from people inside the project who are unhappy with how it went,” Harden told CityNews Ottawa's The Sam Laprade Show. “There's a lot under these rocks as we flip them up, and as the project was developed for Phase 1, and then the same people are working on Phase 2.”
He also wants the province to appoint someone with legal expertise in contracts to the inquiry, in order to help determine what is in the P3 contract between the City of Ottawa and Rideau Transit Group (RTG), along with what the city is obligated to.
“We have to work with the private sector to build these projects, but we should procure them in a way that allows for maximum transparency as well as a good price,” Harden explained. “That's where we failed on this P3 contract, and frankly most P3 contracts I've ever seen, they're very secretive.”
Harden adds he had concerns when the City of Ottawa originally opted for an auditor general investigation, instead of a judicial inquiry.
“I wasn't comfortable with an auditor general report that would potentially be going to the Mayor's office first for some kind of political screen — some kind of internal report that would not include political decision makers,” he said.
Ahead of the provincial government announcing it will be holding a public inquiry into the LRT, the Ottawa-Centre MPP was calling on Ontario's auditor general to investigate the issue-plagued system.
Listen to the full interview with Harden below:
