The final report into the issues plaguing Ottawa’s light rail transit system has found that both city officials and the companies who built the system were at fault for the errors.
There was political pressure behind the decision rush to finish the $2.1-billion project, and a public inquiry into the issues has found that in their haste, both the city and the Rideau Transit Group lost sight of the public interest.
Justice William Hourigan’s report says “deliberate malfeasance is unacceptable in a public project” and makes 103 recommendations to fix the problems.
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Final report into issues with Ottawa’s LRT system to be released Wednesday
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Efforts were made to mislead city council and withhold information, which prevented council from making a fulsome assessment of what was happening, says the report.
Hourigan says city manager Steve Kanellakos’s deliberate effort to mislead council regarding the testing results and criteria was “most troubling.”
Kanellakos stepped down from his position on Monday afternoon, saying he felt it was time for someone to take the lead to implement the report’s recommendations.
© 2022 The Canadian Press
