Ontario names appeal judge to head LRT inquiry commission

An Ontario appeal court judge has been named the commissioner to oversee a public inquiry into the Confederation Line, the light-rail system in Ottawa, which is expected to wrap up in the summer of 2022 at the earliest.

Justice William Hourigan, who was appointed to Ontario's Court of Appeal in 2013, was previously a partner inlaw firm Fasken Martineau who "specialized in complex litigation while in practice," according to a provincial statement released Friday morning that also announcedmore details of the inquiry.

• Province to launch public inquiry into Ottawa LRT network

Exactly a month ago, Ontario's Transportation Minister Caroline Mulroney announced the Progressive Conservative cabinet decided to investigate the troubled Confederation Line, a week afterOttawa's city council voted againstholding a judicial inquiry into the $2.1-billion construction project and $1-billion maintenance contract.

• 'Things are not going well': City knew of reliability issues before accepting LRT system

Mulroney's announcement came on the heels of CBCNews reportingthe city's former head of transit knew there were reliability issues with the LRT system just weeks before taking possession, as well as a story ona consultant deeply involved in the Confederation Linewho told a former mayor he'd be "screwed" by an inquiry.

Mandate to look at financing, city oversight

The province's statement also laid out the scope of the inquiry, which will look into the technical issues that led to the two derailments earlier this year, but it will dig further back.

The commission will investigate the procurement process the city selected for the Confederation Line, and how Rideau Transit Group (RTG) was chosen. It will also consider whether the private-public-partnership known as P3 funding had "an impact on the technical standards applied" and if the contract between the city and LRTwas in accordance with all applicable laws and industry standards, including performance and safety.

• Analysis: Did the city move the goalposts for accepting LRT?

Of particular note, the inquiry will also look at whether the city required enough testing of the LRT before accepting it.

According to the province's statement, the inquiry will investigate whether the city itself had proper oversight of the project, including how it was decided the Confederation Line "had reached substantial completion and any associated testing carried out to support such a declaration."

The entire process is expected to be completed in less than a year. The commission is supposed to deliver a final report to Mulroney by Aug. 31, 2022 or, if Mulroney agrees to an extension, "no later than Nov. 30, 2022."

There was no budget estimate included in Friday's statement.