We’re Not The Blithering Idiots In Rail Mess: WHOPPER WATCH
“OC Transpo continues to expect the independent risk assessment and the report from Atkins Global to be provided on August 3. This work will outline …”
Renée Amilcar, transit general manager, in an Aug. 2 LRT closure update
Why are taxpayers being treated like they are blithering idiots?
Why are journalists being treated like they are blithering idiots?
Why are voters being treated like they are blithering idiots?
Why are the people who pay the salaries of these light-rail geniuses being treated like they are blithering idiots?
In journalism at least, though we are sure that the public sector is held to much higher standard (that being don’t get caught), independence is defined as not only being independent but also appearing to be independent.
Hydro One Links Snapped Wire On Hwy. 174 To LRT
As you can tell from the graphic on the front for this post, Atkins Global is an SNC-Lavalin company. So not only is the company not independent, it does not appear to be independent. So why is the dog-and-pony press release above saying it is independent?
This was brought to the attention of Amilcar during a recent press conference and the question was blown off. Then OC Transpo continues to print something that is not true. This is not to denigrate the work of Atkins Global. The public has no idea if they are good or bad at their job. They could be real geniuses in the true sense of the word. We hope they are.
But they are not independent and they are in an oversight role examining the work of an operation in which SNC Lavalin owns a stake.
You know City of Ottawa and OC Transpo, the time for gamesmanship, spin, lying, sleight-of-hand, PR tricks was over a long time ago. There is not enough perfume on planet earth to mask the stink of this light-rail project.
So stop it. That ship has sailed. Ottawans have put up with odd procurements (hello auditor general … Trillium Line procurement … still waiting on the audit … it should be first on your list … but why not?), lies, coverups, abhorrent waste and probably a bunch of other nasty things for four years and this train doesn’t work. And it might not work at all. That’s $2.2 billion flushed. And OC Transpo is still playing games with the truth? Good God.
Banned Words And Phrases At City Hall: TOP 10 LIST
Ottawans deserve the truth. They demand the truth. We’re all adults. Let’s have a frank discussion about where this goes next … or should go next with our tax money. Maybe we could hold a public meeting at the light-rail subcommittee when it gets back from vacation during this crisis. A transportation crisis.
Sorry but did we mention the light-rail subcommittee on vacation when the light rail is down? Did we mention sloth in the list of nasty things? Perhaps not but we did now. Sloth.
Did we mention a class-action suit? No doubt there are a train-car load of lawyers who’d like to take that on.
So now that we have established that games are still being played at a frightfully incompetent city hall and OC Transpo, where in heaven’s name is Premier Doug Ford and an appointment of a provincial light-rail administrator to take responsibility and show oversight for this abysmally botched project. You know, somebody independent.
Do you need any more proof that this circus at city hall can’t handle this project? What will it take? Dead people on a train?
Might the principals in this missive be insulted? Too bad. Taxpayers, voters, journalists and salary-payers are not the blithering idiots.
But you can guess where you can find them.
Ken Gray
Memo – August 2 – Line 1 Service Update_EN
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I don’t think Ford would handle it any better. After all he gave them the money to get it started.
Frank, the Stage 1 LRT funding was committed during the Wynne administration. Based on the timing of the announcement of Stage 2, it appears that the Wynne administration also committed that project funding as well. In other words, Ford inherited the file.
Well Frank, what do you suggest?
These guys on Laurier Avenue can’t do it. They’ve had four years to fix and they haven’t.
So if not the province, with respect, what? Ford did a bang-up job with the inquiry.
I’m all ears because I”m sick to death with LRT and so are the rest of the people in Ottawa.
cheers and thx
kgray
By “salary-payers”, are you referring to the direct bosses of these people or those from whose pockets is taken the money to pay them? I don’t think you’re talking the bosses but, if you are, I beg to differ. Both management and City Council all fall easily into the ‘blithering idiot’ category.
I’m not even sure if we should be calling them ‘management’ any more because there’s a definite dearth of managing being done by either bureaucrats or councillors. Perhaps ‘mismanagement’ or ‘nonmanagement’ would be better terms.