Ottawa commission playing the numbers game during light rail investigation

A commission wants to have 40 people testify on service disruptions and derailments on Ottawa’s Confederation Line.

Christof Spieler

One million down to 10,000 down to a number of critical answers.

That is the goal of the Ottawa light rail commission when it comes to finding out what caused service disruptions and derailments on Ottawa’s Confederation Line. The commission was set up last fall on the request of the Ottawa city council, which voted for an audit of the service issues and derailments.

On May 25, Justice William Hourigan said during a public meeting that the commission is there to serve the public. He said the group has gathered 1 million documents and reduced that number to 10,000 that were needed for the inquiry. Ninety witnesses have been interviews, and 40 have been asked to testify during public hearings that will begin on June 13.

The derailments happened late last summer, with the second one happening with several passengers on board that led to a shutdown for almost two months. The Transportation Safety Board said the cause of the derailment was because of incomplete maintenance. A bolt was not properly tightened.

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