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Posted Jul 23, 2019, 5:56 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Ottawa
Posts: 29,131
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Not to open old wounds, but I feel it is fitting to post this article from 2006 considering where we are today, 13 years later. Note, the article is missing a few spaces. I guess the 2013 transfer to a new numeric system was a little off.
Quote:
Council kills light rail, blames federal government: Lack of guaranteed funding meant Ottawa had to hit 'reset button'
JAKE RUPERT, WITH FILES FROM PATRICK DARE AND ANJA KARADEGLIJA, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN 09.10.2013
Originally published December 15, 2006
OttawaCity Council killed the north-south light-rail project yesterday by a narrowvote, placing the blame squarely on the federal government.
The$880-million project was seven years in the making and approved once before.
It wasdesigned to service the south end of the city, where growth has been directed,and to be the first step in a light-rail system criss-crossing Ottawa.
But itdied by a vote of 13 to 11, with Mayor Larry O'Brien voting against it.
A majorityof councillors rejected the electric line from the University of Ottawa toBarrhaven, despite the guarantee from a group of companies chosen to build itthat they would sue the city if council didn't approve the line.
After thevote, officials from the companies, led by Siemens, had no comment, but in aletter this week they said if the project was cancelled, they would"pursue any and all legal actions available to us."
Mr.O'Brien and many of the councillors who voted against the project said the citywould work hard to limit any potential financial harm stemming from thedecision, and that estimates of hundreds of millions in damages are overblown.
"Let'snot all get to the sky-is- falling attitude and run around like Chicken Littles,"he said. "It's what it would have cost us to go ahead that I wasmeasuring. We had no choice but to hit the reset button."
He saidhis chief reason for voting against the project was the downtown portion of theproject, which would have run on city streets, made the project too slow,wouldn't help traffic congestion, and would hurt businesses in the area.
Mr.O'Brien said he will now appoint a task force to come up with a better masstransit plan for the city in the next six months.
"Wewill move forward very quickly to come up with solutions to north-southtransportation and address east-west needs," he said.
Theresolution that defeated the project said city council was terminating thesystem because it couldn't meet its financial obligations due to the federalgovernment's failure to come through with a $200-million commitment byyesterday's deadline.
Theprovincial and federal governments had agreed to contribute $200 million eachtoward the project.
Yesterday morning,the provincial commitment was in city officials' hands, but the federalcommitment didn't arrive despite repeated reassurances by the Treasury Boardpresident, Ottawa West-Nepean Conservative MP John Baird, that it would bethere regardless of what council did.
When askedwhy the city hadn't received the money, city manager Kent Kirkpatrick simplysaid: "I don't know."
However,Mr. Baird's spokesman, Patrick Robert, said the federal government's promise of$200 million for transit for Ottawa was there.
"Thatcommitment is still solid even today after this decision," said Mr.Robert.
Those whovoted against the line yesterday argued, though, that since the federalgovernment did not actually sign off on the project, it would not be aresponsible thing to vote for it.
CapitalCouncillor Clive Doucet, a longtime supporter of light rail, said cancellingthe project was "stupid" and "a city disaster."
He saidtaxpayers will now have to foot legal bills, getting nothing in return, andnorth-south road congestion will get worse as more and more people drivedowntown to work every day.
"It'smorally wrong, environmentally and socially wrong," he said.
"Itwill be a $300-million claim, half the price of the entire project, and we'llget nothing," he said. "This was a long and difficult process, andit's going to be a long, long time before I can get over it."
Gloucester-SouthgateCouncillor Diane Deans said the vote will create a "colossal financialproblem" for taxpayers and damage Ottawa's reputation in Canada and theworld. "It's an embarrassment, and I'm embarrassed to be part of it."
She alsonoted that the city has spent roughly $65 million getting the project going.
BayCouncillor Alex Cullen, who was against the plan because he feels it's too expensivefor what the city would be getting, said now the municipality has a chance toget a good light-rail system in Ottawa.
"Thedebate on this project ends today, but light rail in the city doesn't endtoday," he said. "We have the opportunity to go back and prove thevalue of a better project.
OrleansCouncillor Bob Monette said it was a shame $400 million in federal andprovincial money would be left on the table.
But Mr.O'Brien said he didn't think the federal and provincial financial commitmentshave been put in jeopardy because of the vote.
"Thatmoney is not at risk, in my perspective," he said.
CollegeCouncillor Rick Chiarelli, a lawyer who voted against the project, said thethreat of a lawsuit by Siemens is real, but the odds of it being successful andthe potential liability the city faces are grossly inflated.
"Idon't think the Siemens' case is nearly as strong as they think it is," hesaid. "It's not as simple as Siemens makes it out to be. Anybody can sue,but it doesn't mean they are going to win. I think the city has some strongarguments to make."
Chiefamong those, he said, was the fact that the federal money was not in place.
In July,city council approved the project and awarded the contract to the group ofcompanies, and the province agreed to kick in its share.
Thecontract was signed in September.
But beforethe deal could close, Mr. Baird said that although the plan met with allfederal government requirements, the money would only be handed over if the newcity council voted for the project again after the election.
Yetbecause the federal money had not been signed off, the successful resolutionfor killing the project said essentially that the city had no choice.
Mr.Chiarelli said the contract with the group of companies said the deal could becancelled if either the federal or provincial contributions weren't made, whichgives the the city an argument that it did everything it could to get thefunding in place.
OttawaSouth Liberal MP David McGuinty, a contract lawyer, said that the interventionsof Mr. Baird have exposed the federal government to the expected lawsuit by thegroup of companies against the city.
Mr.McGuinty said the companies have a case against the city "and a solid caseagainst the government of Canada" because of Mr. Baird's reckless actions.
"He'scaught in it now," Mr. McGuinty said. "Mr. Baird decided to interferein a local democracy and held Ottawa City Council ransom. He's exposed theCanadian people to litigation, the city to litigation, and potentially himselfto litigation."
Mr.Baird's spokesman, Mr. Robert, said: "I'm not going to speculate on whathappens on that front. I guess we'll have to take a wait and see."
How TheyVoted:
Kill therail line:
Rainer Bloess,Marianne Wilkinson, Shad Qadri, Alex Cullen, Gord Hunter, Michel Bellemare,Christine Leadman, Rob Jellett, Glenn Brooks, Peggy Feltmate, Larry O'Brien,Eli El-Chantiry, Rick Chiarelli
Not tokill the rail line:
BobMonette, Jan Harder, Diane Deans, Georges Bedard, Diane Holmes, Maria McRae,Clive Doucet, Peter Hume, Doug Thompson, Steve Desroches, Jacques Legendre
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http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/counci...ng+meant+ottawa+reset/8893987/story.html
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