The City of Ottawa’s auditor general is suspending her investigation into the city’s turbulent light-rail transit system after the Ontario government set parameters of its own inquiry last week.
Nathalie Gougeon said in a memo to the city council Wednesday that her team has decided to “pause” the work already underway on its LRT probe, in an effort to “alleviate any excess burden placed on the city’s administration caused by two, very large, concurrent reviews of similar nature.”
The Ontario Ministry of Transportation announced last week that its inquiry would be led by Justice William Hourigan and would look into how the original LRT contract was awarded and whether the city’s procurement process was sufficient to deliver and maintain a quality transit system.
Gougeon said she would touch base with Hourigan in the new year to see how the review is progressing and whether any items are to be included or left out of their mandate. Her office could pick up any areas not covered in the public inquiry, she suggested.
The public inquiry is due to report its findings in August 2022, or by November 2022, at the latest.
Ottawa city council requested Gougeon look into the Stage 1 LRT procurement following two derailments and an extended period of downtime over the fall.
Some councillors endeavoured to have a judicial inquiry called into the system, but the council as a whole ultimately voted that down before the Ontario government stepped in to say it would conduct its own probe.