Jim Watson apologizes for LRT debacle

Good morning!

Jim Watson finished his vacation, and finally acknowledged the devastating LRT inquiry report that dropped two weeks ago. He has apologized, but it’s maybe not the most satisfying apology you’ll read. We’ve got all the details

It didn’t take long for the snow to build up yesterday, as this set of photos from one Reddit user taken over a few hours shows. Maybe we’ll have that white Christmas after all.

Let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Monday: -7 🌡️ -12 | ☀️

Tuesday: -5 🌡️ -13 | ☀️

Wednesday: -5 🌡️ -11 | ☀️

WEEKLY LOOKOUT

Council meeting: Council will meet for the last time this year on Wednesday, with the budget being the main focus of the day. (We’ve got more info below.)

Project Give: This Friday, CBC will be hosting a special live show all day from the NAC to raise money for the Ottawa Food Bank. You can donate ahead of time here.

LRT INQUIRY

Jim Watson speaks, apologizes for LRT

What happened: Former mayor Jim Watson has finally commented on the devastating LRT inquiry report. In it, he apolgized to the city for the failures of the train system, CBC reported.

• “I take full responsibility for the project's shortcomings,” Watson said. “The system we purchased did not meet our expectations, and for that I apologize wholeheartedly to the residents of Ottawa and to our transit users in particular.”

The problem: While he said he takes responsibility, Watson did little to address his conduct, or the conduct of his senior officials, identified by the inquiry’s final report. “Many of the findings outlined in the report are generally complimentary,” Watson said in his statement.

But the commissioner said that he couldn’t accept some of Watson’s testimony as truthful, and also said Watson and his senior staff, by giving misleading statements, “irreparably compromised the statutory oversight function of council.”

• Need to catch up on all of the LRT inquiry report’s findings? Check out the Lookout’s guide to the LRT inquiry.

Thanking staff: Watson made a point of city staff for their hard work getting the system online. He made a special point to single out former city manager Steve Kanellakos

• “I particularly want to thank Steve Kanellakos for his steadfast leadership, professionalism and integrity, as well as his delivery of numerous city-building projects during my time as mayor. Steve is one of the most honest and dedicated public servants I have had the opportunity to work with during my time in politics. His departure is a great loss to the city, and I want to thank him for his close to four decades of service to our community.”

The inquiry’s commissioner had a different view of the former city manager: “The inescapable conclusion is that Kanellakos deliberately misled council.” Kanellakos abruptly resigned two days before the report was released.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🐕 44: The number of stray dogs rescued from Manitoba communities brought to an Ottawa Valley animal rescue for adoption. [CTV]

☃️ 11 cm: We got an unexpected dump of snow Sunday, with this much snow falling on the city. [CTV]

🥣 200%: The Ottawa Mission said it expects demand to increase this Christmas compared to previous years. [CTV]

CITY HALL

Scrapping single-use plastics

What’s to come: Council will vote this week to ban single-use plastics like drinking straws and stir sticks from city buildings, CTV reported. The motion, which seems likely to pass, will direct the city to immediately stop buying the products.

The motion will also ask staff to find ways to reduce waste in other ways, and report back their progress in 2025.

Federal ban: The city’s move comes ahead of a federal ban on the import and production of plastics later this month. The federal ban goes into effect Dec. 20. At the same time next year, the sale of single-use plastics will be banned, CTV reported. The export of this kind of plastics will be banned in December 2025.

Here are the products that will be banned for production this month:

• Shopping bags;

• Cutlery;

• Takeout containers;

• Stir sticks;

• Six-pack rings;

• Straws.

Other council items: Council will also debate the budget directions for the coming year. There are two motions that will be debated:

• To direct the finance committee and the auditor general to do a review of city programming to find efficiencies.

• To remove the ability of the interim city manager to make changes to the LRT agreement without first getting permission from councillors.

Like this type of coverage of city hall? Get access to Insider City Hall, our newsletter covering the inner-workings of our local government. Subscribe today.

NEW LOCAL JOBS

Check out the new open positions in Ottawa.

1. Social policy researcher, at Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

2. Supervisor of family residential services, at City of Ottawa

3. Team lead, disability management, at the House of Commons

4. General manager, CRAFT Beer Market

5. Protocol assistant, at the US Embassy

Insider knowledge of Ottawa, just for you

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We want to make it easier to explore, love and understand our city.

Now you can with an Insider membership. For a limited time, we’re giving away memberships to our Food and City Hall newsletter for 39 per cent off.

As an Insider, you’ll get:

• A breakdown of the people, players, movers and shakers of municipal politics and how decisions impact you, your family and business

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• Access members-only Google Maps of the best restaurants, bars and stores in each neighbourhood

• Discounted tickets to events (coming soon)

Consider becoming a member today before December 31st to take advantage of these huge savings.

THE AGENDA

⚖️ Tyler Hikoalok was found guilty of first-degree murder for killing 59-year-old church librarian Elisabeth Salm in 2018. [CTV]

🏛️ Ottawa lawyer James Bowie has been suspended from practicing law for not cooperating with professional misconduct investigations. The suspension is unrelated to allegations of sexual misconduct the lawer is facing. [Ottawa Citizen]

🚚 Catherine McKenney told the Ottawa People’s Commission the convoy left behind a legacy of bigotry in Centretown. [Ottawa Citizen]

🏥 A 78-year-old man in Smiths Falls has been sleeping in his car for four months to stay near his wife while she recovers in hospital. [Ottawa Citizen]

🚇 A man who witnessed an assault on the LRT said no one answered the intercom when he hit the emergency call button on the train. [CBC]

🚧 Parents are worried the construction near Devonshire Public School could harm the hearing of their kids. The noise was so loud recess had to be cut short. [CBC]

🚨 A high-risk offender released in Brockville has been re-arrested for allegedly breaching his release conditions. [CTV]

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Drake Batherson had two points in the Sens’ 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators. [CTV]

• Give the oxtail a try at Jamaican Homestyle Cuisine for a great version of this dish.

• Looking to reduce waste Christmas gift wrapping? CityNews has a great guide for how to green your gifts. [CityNews]

• The Ottawa Seed Library will be hosting an exchange of wildflower seeds this month, in time for a pre-winter planting. [CBC]

• Christmas shipping deadlines are approaching fast, here are the dates you need to know to get your packages to arrive on time. [CTV]

• Someone on Reddit asked the AI ChatGPT to write a comedy about Ottawa, and the results are…something. [Reddit]

• The Ottawa Public Library now has CO2 sensors to lend out to people in the city looking to learn more about air quality. [CBC]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Contact our partnership team for more info.

EVENTS

Baking, concerts, and a chance at a new career

Music

🎄 Floralove and Friends Holiday Concert, Tuesday 7:30 pm: A night of sing-along Christmas songs, plus a tribute to Ukraine at the NAC. Tickets start at $35.

🎼 The Tallis Scholars: Hymns to the Virgin, Tonight 7 pm: Chamberfest’s winter series continues with a vocal ensemble. They’ll be doing works from Josquin to Stravinsky at the Carleton Dominion-Chalmers Centre, 355 Cooper St. Tickets start at $29.

Kids/Family

🍪 Baking with Dad, Tuesday 5:30 pm: A workshop for kids aged three to six to learn how to bake with dad. At St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church at 2 Mulkins St. And yes, you get to eat the results. Admission is free.

General

💲 Ottawa Career Fair, Tuesday 1 pm: A career fair with corporations big and small, plus multiple government departments at the Shaw Centre. Admission is free.

TOP PHOTO

Today’s photo is a gorgeous pre-snow photo of downtown on a wet night by Reddit user JackKelso21.

Have you got photos of our city you’d like to share? We love running pictures by our readers.

NEWS QUIZ

Congrats to everyone who got last week’s Ottawa Wordle. The answer was HOUSE, as in the provincial housing bill that recently passed.

Today for the quiz we’re wondering if you remember the original budget for the LRT project? The first five people to write in with the correct answer will get their names mentioned in the next issue.

LATEST COVID STATS