City blames everyone else for LRT failures

Good morning!

A bunch to get to today, as our favourite newsletter topic, the LRT, is back in the news.

But, I’d be remiss if I didn’t wish my little sister a happy birthday! We had a nice breakfast at an old family favourite, Broadway’s in Barrhaven. It was nice!

Anyway, let’s just jump right in, shall we?

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

PS — There's still time to get early access to our new food publication. Take our Ottawa food survey here, help shape the direction of Capital Eats and get early access to new stories.

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Weather Report

Wednesday: 26 🌡️ 16 | ⛈

Thursday: 24 🌡️ 13 | 🌧

Friday: 28 🌡️ 16 | ☀

LRT INQUIRY

City said it is blameless in the many problems with the LRT

What happened: The City of Ottawa said it was blameless for the failures of the LRT, and put the onus on Rideau Transit Group (RTG) for everything that has gone wrong with the system. In its closing statement with the LRT Inquiry, the city hit back at the general thrust of the inquiry, which it said put the emphasis on scrutinizing the wrong side:

• “The issues [with the system] all involve failures in design, construction or maintenance, which are the responsibility of RTG and its subcontractors (for whom RTG is responsible),” the statement said. “The city believes that a fair-minded and impartial observer can only come to one conclusion — the city’s conduct, and the conduct of its representatives, is not responsible for the previous and continuing issues facing the LRT.”

A political inquiry? The city also said the inquiry was called and conducted for political reasons. They said the short time frame wouldn’t give the commission enough time to review and understand the issues.

Soft launch and testing: The city said it had given exactly as much information to council as it had promised when the LRT deal was signed. And the city rejected the idea the public or council needed to know about the many failures in the early part of testing once the system had passed muster. It also said it rejected a soft launch because it wouldn’t give “adequate service for transit riders.”

• Dig deeper: City argues contractors should shoulder blame for LRT issues in its public inquiry closing statement [Ottawa Citizen]

Our conclusion: The city’s statement is about defending its interests, and putting their actions in the best possible light. Transit riders never got “adequate service.” It seems a soft launch would have been in the public’s best interest and given them time to work out the issues before the LRT was the only real transit option.

• Before the inquiry started, it was easy to fear it would be a slap-dash effort from the province to meddle in local politics. But the public questioning was thorough, and it unearthed a wealth of new information — remember the secret WhatsApp chat? — that those fears, and the city’s accusations, now ring hollow.

The city wants all the credit, and none of the blame, for setting up a process and a contract that left us with a sub-standard transit system. As the city said, a fair-minded and impartial observer can come to a conclusion, it is just unlikely to be the conclusion the city wants.

You can read our coverage from each day of public testimony in our guide to the LRT Inquiry.

COST OF LIVING

Inflation slows slightly to 7.6%

What happened: Then inflation rate seems to have passed its peak, as the overall year-over-year rate dropped to 7.6 percent. That's down from the height of 8.1 percent last month.

• Why the drop? The dip in inflation was largely driven by the fall in gas prices, The Canadian Press reported. It’s the first drop in inflation since June 2020.

Food prices still rise: While overall inflation dropped, the price of groceries rose to a new high, jumping 9.9 percent, compared to 9.4 percent last month. It’s the fastest pace since 1981, CP reported.

According to The Canadian Press, these are the Top 5 food products with the highest hike in prices:

• Fats and oils: 28.6 percent

• Pasta products: 20 percent

• Butter: 17.3 percent

• Oranges: 16.9 percent

• Eggs: 15.8 percent

Wage growth was only 5.2 percent in July, meaning the overall inflation crisis is not over. One economist said to CP it could be some time before the pressure eases on households.

CONVOY

Emergencies Act inquiry to begin in September

What happened: The federal government announced the inquiry into the use of the Emergencies Act will kick off Sept. 19, CBC reported. The inquiry will look into the decision to use extraordinary powers to declare all convoy protests illegal, call in police help from forces outside of Ontario, and freeze bank accounts and credit cards of convoy participants. The hearings will be livestreamed.

Other inquiry: The Ottawa People’s Commission will run hearings at the same time. They said while they welcomed the federal inquiry, their focus would be on the stories of people on the ground, affected by the protests, not high-level decision makers.

• “The People’s Commission is more focused on healing and justice and creating opportunities for residents to share their experiences and viewpoints about the deeply troubling occupation and its aftermath,” commission steering committee co-chair Ken Rubin said in a statement.

STORIES YOU MIGHT’VE MISSED

Strong mayor powers coming to other cities: The provincial government announced in Ottawa today that they are already looking to expand its proposed strong mayor powers to cities beyond Ottawa and Toronto. The new mayoral powers have not yet come into effect. Ford said details on when new cities would get the powers, and which cities will receive them, will be announced later. [CTV]

Plane hit trees after take off: A plane that crashed, killing two Ottawa residents, hit a line of trees after take off. After it hit the trees, it crashed into a nearby field. By the time emergency crews arrive, 72-year-old- Suzanne Parent and 74-year-old Alvin Crosby were pronounced dead. Investigators have not yet determined who was flying the plane. [CBC]

No construction on closed beach: Westboro Beach was closed by the NCC for the summer, with construction expected to revamp the facilities at one of the city’s four beaches. But because of supply chain issues and a construction labour shortage, the work on the beach hasn’t started, even though it has been fenced off for months. It’s expected construction will start by the end of the month, and the beach will reopen next year as planned. [Ottawa Citizen]

Retired nurse needs liver donor: A former nurse needs a new liver because of a needle prick more than 30 years ago when changing the needle of a patient who had received Hepatitis C tainted blood. Pam Hopkins-Dargavel is in liver failure because of the incident. She can only accept a liver from a donor with O+, O-, B+ or B- blood type. You can find out more about donating here. [CTV]

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HOUSE OF THE WEEK

This week’s house is a bit of a fixer-upper. But while it may need a bit of love, there’s a lot of potential in this rural home on a gigantic lot. It comes as-is, but look below the surface and you might find something interesting. It features:

• Four bedrooms;

• A 95 acre lot;

• New propane furnace;

• Jacuzzi soaker tub;

• Large deck;

• Wall of windows in the living and dining area.

To see what needs to be done, and how much it costs, see the listing.

Community highlights

• Time is running out to win $100 work of ice cream to La Cigale. Enter today.

• Mark your calendars, the Stanley Cup is coming to Petawawa on Aug. 30 with Avalanche skating coach Shawn Allard. [CTV]

• Ottawa Garden Festival events this week include growing your food and a summer flowers and edible show. Event ends August 21 so stop by today.*

• Love beer but don't drink alcohol? Our food editor has some recommendations for you.

• Kemptville residents are trying to get a court to stop the construction of a new jail in their town. [CTV]

• Why not try Braumeister Bierhall's patio for a cheeky mid-week pint. It's one of several we recommend around town.

• Have you seen this cat? It’s gone missing in Vanier near Brant Street.

• Home sales in the Ottawa Valley slowed, as 28.7 percent fewer homes were sold in July, compared to the previous year. [CityNews]

• Ever wonder how Ottawa could become a better place? We spoke to Toon Dreessen about his vision to make this city great.

• If you lost your keys near MacLaren and O’Connor, this Reddit user may have found them.

*Sponsored content

GOOD NEWS

Puppies rescued from medical testing

Puppies! Two beagle puppies freed from a facility breeding the dogs for drug experiments were saved by a local couple. They had planned to adopt one dog from the rescue group, but ended up with two: Wendel and Sydney. There are hundreds more of the rescued dogs available, you can find out more here. [CTV]

TOP PHOTO

Return of the bees! This photo comes from reader Dawn Dufour who said, “Here’s one of my favourite photos from this summer (hard to choose from my library!) of a beautiful bee enjoying a beautiful lotus bloom opening in our backyard pond.”

Do you have a favourite summer photo? Send it in! We love publishing photos from our readers to share with the rest of the Lookout community.

OTTAWA GEOGUESSER

Once again, we may have made the quiz question a little too difficult. Sorry about that. Only Ron got the correct answer, and unfortunately it’s because he said his house was expropriated just before construction began on the Queensway in 1957.

This week’s GeoGuesser is not the easiest, but there is a hint in the background if you look real close. Bonus points if you know what road is above the image. Reply to this email with your answers, and we’ll post the names of all the correct GeoGuessers.

Latest COVID stats

Note: Ottawa Public Health is now only updating COVID stats twice a week, on Tuesday and Friday afternoons. Because of the Lookout’s publishing schedule, this means the numbers here may be out of date. For the most recent stats, see the OPH COVID Dashboard.

• Active Cases: 891

• Total deaths: 862

• Ottawans In Hospital: 19

• Ottawans In ICU: 2

• Acute Beds Occupied: 96%

• ICU Beds Occupied: 62%

• ICU Ventilator Beds Occupied: 26%