Ottawa LRT: Update on possible Trillium Line construction delay pushed to Dec. 17

The public will have to wait a little longer for answers about possible delays to Ottawa’s Trillium Line light-rail extension.

An update on Stage 2 LRT construction was set for Tuesday morning’s finance and economic development committee (FEDCO) meeting, but city staff called for a deferral, saying they need more time to gather information.

That update is now set for a special FEDCO meeting on Friday, Dec. 17.

City staff had previously said the Trillium Line extension was facing “schedule impacts” that might push the handover of the north-south light-rail line — currently set for mid-August 2022 — back by roughly 40 days. A clearer picture about any delays was forecast for the end of 2021.

In connection with Tuesday’s move, the proposed Dec. 15 transit commission meeting — the usual place councillors, commissioners and the public hear updates on Confederation Line operations — will also be cancelled.

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A Confederation Line update, with executives from Rideau Transit Group on-hand to answer councillor questions, will instead kick off the Dec. 17 meeting. In-camera updates on legal issues related to both Stage 1 and 2 will also be considered that day.

The call to forgo the transit commission meeting two days before FEDCO rankled some councillors on Tuesday. They noted that pushing all transit updates to Friday will disqualify citizen transit commissioners from asking questions about the Confederation Line.

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Capital Coun. Shawn Menard sought a combined meeting of FEDCO and the transit commission to get everyone at the table, but Mayor Jim Watson defended the singular approach by ruling that construction and legal matters are solely FEDCO’s purview.

City Clerk Rick O’Connor concurred that the Dec. 17 docket is “largely a FEDCO matter” but did not rule out a possible joint meeting.

City Solicitor David White meanwhile said that unelected citizen commissioners should not be present at in-camera meetings related to ongoing LRT legal disputes.

Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney suggested they might bring a motion to city council on Wednesday to change the Dec. 17 meeting to a joint committee, arguing that transit commission’s authority overlaps with FEDCO on issues such as LRT maintenance.

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