Watson’s On-Time, On-Budget … Kinda: CRERAR

OC Transpo’s timeless advertising.

Ottawa’s light-rail project is an easy target for criticism, scorn, and sarcasm.

Former mayor Jim Watson promised that Line 1 would be “on-time and on-budget”. The marketing department at 110 Laurier Avenue West did everything in its power to help Watson succeed. Was it planned or a fluke?

Lately I have been clearing out old “stuff” from my home as part of a downsizing exercise. While going through some old papers set aside, I found two  pamphlets related to the opening of Line 1 of Ottawa’s LRT system (see photo). City Hall’s marketing department wisely chose not to comment on the cost of the project, but their handling of the “on-time” portion of Watson’s statement was brilliant.

The pamphlets show a month and day for the grand opening, but city hall marketing wasn’t foolish enough to post the year. Theoretically the opening was on time, in fact, some might argue Line 1 opened early.

Kudos to someone at city hall for successfully pulling the wool over our eyes.

Howard Crerar is a project manager and has worked in the software industry for three decades. 

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