Don’t Let Jim Watson Near Public Policy Again
Former Ottawa mayor Jim Watson, by his own admission, was responsible for the horrible fiasco that is Ottawa’s light-rail project.
Current Mayor Mark Sutcliffe is the architect of the failure of his promised LRT fix with Alstom saying it has stopped building a new wheel-hub assembly for OC Transpo’s troubled rail cars.
Watson presided over the mess that is Ottawa’s current light-rail troubles. Those problems have crippled this city’s transit system and damaged, possibly irreparably, the biggest municipal project in Ottawa’s history. This community is losing its patience with spending huge amounts of money but getting little for it.
Recently, Watson has been raising his profile in what some believe will be an attempt to gain an elected position.
Under no circumstances should Watson be allowed anywhere near shaping or administering public policy. Voters should see to that.
Why? There are 6.4 billion reasons for that and probably more. If you require more support for that position, check out the provincial inquiry into Ottawa’s botched light-rail project.
Watson’s retirement from public life should remain on-time and on-budget.
Ken Gray
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Not so sure about the “on budget”. Could we not redirect his multitude of government pensions and apply them towards the ginormous-and-growing LRT costs? It could be just a drop in the bucket but a) it’s the principle of the matter and b) why should he be allowed to sail off into the sunset scot-free?
It’s long past time he faced the music.
Bravo. Watson should be left to rot in ignominy. He is the pinnacle of political greed and pomposity. He alone led council for so many years in a path that undesirable. And in the end Sutcliffe has allowed it to continue, by refusing to get a full audit of the LRT disaster.