FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PRESS RELEASE: Community forces Council to back down on discount fare increases
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Horizon Ottawa Welcomes Move by Councillor McKenney to Bring Back Motion Around Judicial Inquiry Into LRT
OTTAWA - Horizon Ottawa is welcoming a move by Somerset Ward Councillor Catherine McKenney to bring back their motion for a judicial inquiry at the next Ottawa City Council meeting. At the end of today’s Council Meeting, Councillor McKenney gave notice that they will bring back a similar motion that they presented last month which asked a Superior Court Justice to come investigate the procurement process around the LRT.
As a result of undemocratic moves by Mayor Jim Watson that included muting a member of Council and a walk-on motion for an Auditor General investigation presented by Glen Gower meant to avoid the vote on the inquiry, McKenney’s motion failed to even get debated.
“We’re pleased to see Councillor McKenney push to have this motion be presented again at the next council meeting.” Said Sam Hersh, a member of Horizon Ottawa’s Board of Directors. “There was no reason that this motion should not have been debated in the first place, it had massive support from residents across the city; denying them at least a debate does residents a disservice.”
Gower’s motion for an Auditor General investigation, supported by the Mayor, that ended up getting adopted has far less teeth than a judicial inquiry. The main distinction between an Auditor General investigation and a judicial inquiry is that the Auditor General cannot investigate members of Council or the Mayor and is not a public investigation.
“Watson and his clique at City Hall can only avoid accountability for so long.” Said Hersh. “Sooner or later answers will need to be had around the LRT and its mismanagement by our city and their private partner, RTG - and a judicial inquiry is the best way to do it.”
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For Media Inquiries:
Sam Hersh
613-663-7018
