Gougeon Must Probe The LRT Trillium Line Procurement

Something is very disconcerting about the City auditor general’s 2022-2023 Audit Work Plan.

The worst bit of information that came out of the clown show that has been the Ottawa light-rail project was the Trillium Line procurement.

An SNC-Lavalin subsidiary failed the first technical procurement tests for building the revamped Trillium Line that was part of the Stage 2 portion of the project. Unusually, the company received a second chance to pass the technical standards. It failed again.

And yet, the SNC subsidiary won the bidding for the Trillium Line contract.

None of this information would have become public had it not been leaked by someone in the know to former councillors Diane Deans and Rick Chiarelli. The provincial inquiry into the Confederation Line (Stage 1) contract was very concerned about information withheld from that project by the mayor’s office and staff.

It looks as though the Trillium Line procurement had those same problems.

City auditor general Nathalie Gougeon promised to deal with all the LRT issues … there are many … that were not investigated by the provincial inquiry.

However, the work plan below says: “Engagements being considered for potential inclusion in the 2022-2023 Audit Work Plan, should time permit, include:”

• Stage 2 LRT – contract/program management;

• Stage 3 LRT – procurement.

Now why the delineation between “Stage 2 contract/program management” and “Stage 3 procurement”?

Does that mean that Gougeon is only looking at Stage 3 procurement but not that of the very controversial Stage 2?

And she will only conduct these probes if her office has time.

Sorry, but the most important investigation of any kind at city hall is the Stage 2 procurement. It has a very questionable smell about it. Gougeon is not doing her job if she doesn’t probe that. In fact, it is impossible to respect her office if she does not conduct a probe of the Trillium Line procurement.

Councillors were suspicious and the public was very concerned. That issue should be Gougeon’s No. 1 priority.

The auditor general’s office lost a great deal of respect due to her very weak probe into police actions surrounding the Freedom Convoy. If she does not probe the Trillium Line procurement, her office will simply lose any kind of dignity it once had.

For God’s Sake, Answer The Landfill Question

Gougeon got off to a strong start in her job but then the police report hurt her. No probe of the Trillium Line procurement means, for some reason, the AG is dodging the most important audit in recent years at Ottawa City Hall.

That can’t happen.

The relevant sections of her work plan are below:

LRT Audit/Investigation
At the October 13, 2021 Council meeting, Council requested that the Auditor General consider
an audit of the Stage 1 LRT Procurement and Implementation. The OAG has accepted this
request and included an audit within the 2022-2023 Audit Work Plan. The motion further
permitted the OAG to access funds for this audit from the Transit Operating Reserves. Once
the OAG has completed sufficient planning to further define the scope of the audit, we will return
to Council to provide an update and a preliminary budget.
Subsequent to the request from Council, the Minister of Transportation from the Province of
Ontario, announced that a public inquiry into Stage 1 of the LRT would be initiated. The terms of
reference of the inquiry have not yet been reported. Once we better understand the scope of the
province’s public inquiry, additional audit/investigation work on Stage 1 LRT may be initiated.
The scope of the province’s public inquiry will be considered in the planning stages of the OAG
LRT audit to avoid duplication of efforts and ensure prudent spending of taxpayer dollars.

Emerging Issues and Audit Horizon for 2022-2023
The above Audit Work Plan is based on identified risk and resources. The Auditor General has
also taken into consideration emerging risks and as such, flexibility has been incorporated into
the Audit Work Plan to ensure the Office of the Auditor General is able to execute work
under its mandate, have the agility to quickly shift priorities in line with the changing landscape
as well as manage the burden placed on the City’s administration. Examples of such emerging
risks relate to diversity, equity and inclusion, sustainability/climate change, culture, cybersecurity
and supply chain shortages.
2022-2023 Audit Work Plan
11
Engagements being considered for potential inclusion in the 2022-2023 Audit Work Plan, should
time permit, include:
• Council office expenses;
• OC Transpo route scheduling and planning;
• Stage 2 LRT – contract/program management;
• Stage 3 LRT – procurement;
• Culture audit; and
• Waste management strategy.

Conclusion
The audit selection process has been based on our assessment of risks, available resources
and the need to be agile in our current environment. The plan is flexible to allow the Auditor
General to respond to emerging issues. The audits outlined above aim to help the City’s
administration mitigate risks as well as improve accountability, the control environment and the
efficiency and effectiveness of City operations.

If Gougeon does not probe the Trillium Line procurement or does as weak a job as she did on the police actions at the Freedom Convoy, taxpayers should make a serious public-policy issue of whether or not we need the AG’s office at all.

If Gougeon does not address the Trillium Line procurement, she simply isn’t doing the job that Ottawan’s entrusted her with.

Ken Gray

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