Ottawa mayor knew SNC-Lavalin didn’t meet technical score threshold before crucial LRT vote
Posted Mar 10, 2020 07:40:00 PM.
Mayor Jim Watson was the only member of Ottawa's city council who knew that SNC-Lavalin had failed to meet the technical score threshold and that it had been allowed to continue through the procurement process before he voted to award the $1.6-billion contract to extend the Trillium Line to the airport and Riverside South.
City Manager Steve Kanellakos revealed the timeline Monday at a special meeting of the city's Finance and Economic Development Committee, saying the mayor had been briefed on SNC-Lavalin's technical score the day before the vote.
“The mayor is the chair of council, and as the head of council and under the Municipal Act, has the ability to receive that briefing before he chairs the council meeting,” Kanellakos told the committee.
“The mayor is required, as the chief executive officer of the corportation, to provide leadership about a variety of things, and the staff thought it was appropriate that he have that information,” added Rick O'Connor, city clerk.
A written statement from the mayor's office, Tuesday afternoon, defended Watson's position.
“Mayor Watson's priority during this briefing with City Manager Steve Kanellakos was to ensure that the Fairness Commissioner, an independent third party hired to ensure the integrity of the process throughout the Stage 2 LRT procurement, had signed off on the process and confirmed that it was fully compliant with City of Ottawa policies,” the statement said, in part. “As the Fairness Commissioner had indeed signed off, Mayor Watson was satisfied that the process had been followed by staff.”
The statement also said that the mayor was advised by legal counsel that breaching the confidentiality of the procurement process could damage the interests of Ottawa taxpayers, as the city was still in the active phase of the procurement process.
No other member of council was given the information that was given to the mayor on March 5, 2019. The following day, council voted to approve the three Stage 2 LRT projects, totalling about $4.66-billion.
