The province will pay for a public inquiry into Ottawa’s LRT. Will it help with Hamilton’s $20-million parkway probe?
Hamilton taxpayers may not like this tale of two public inquiries.
In 2019, Hamilton council voted to request a judge-led inquiry - instead of a cheaper auditor-general probe - into the slippery Red Hill Valley Parkway, arguing public transparency was worth the cost. That tab is now threatening to hit $20 million.
In October, Ottawa's council rejected a judicial inquiry into a troubled $2-billion light rail transit line in favour of an auditor-general probe - only to see the Progressive Conservative provincial government impose a public inquiry weeks later. But in that case, Ontario foots the bill.
That decision raises an interesting question" for Hamilton politicians, said law professor Ed Ratushny - namely, should the province help pay for the Red Hill probe, too?
Now that Ontario has committed itself to funding for the Ottawa inquiry, an interesting question to pose would be whether it is also willing to make a contribution to Hamilton's (inquiry)," said Ratushny, author of The Conduct of Public Inquiries: Law, Policy and Practice."
He noted both inquiries will probe high-profile local transportation projects that involved notable provincial funding or co-operation, and both may yield valuable lessons" for Ontario's government going forward.
Hamilton's council voted to direct city lawyers to explore" potential provincial funding help in April - but it's unclear if they did so. The city's only Tory MPP, Donna Skelly, said she has never received such a request for help.
Regardless, it is something we need to revisit," said Mayor Fred Eisenberger following the latest inquiry cost update.
Hamilton's inquiry seeks to solve the mystery of a city safety report about poor friction on the Red Hill that was inexplicably buried for years - even as collisions and deaths piled up on the parkway.
But Eisenberger said the province has a stake in the findings, too. He argued Ontario had a hand in recommending the asphalt" used to pave the original parkway and also did its own friction testing, unbeknownst to most city officials.
Coun. Lloyd Ferguson isn't holding out hope for help. I think we're on our own with this thing," said Ferguson, who lobbied unsuccessfully for an auditor-general probe. We made a political decision ... and we're paying for it."
There are a few important differences between the two inquiries.
Ontario launched the probe into Ottawa's problem-plagued LRT under the Public Inquiries Act, which means it gets to appoint one or more commissioners, set the scope and a provincially funded budget. (Ottawa may still go ahead with a separate, council-endorsed auditor-general probe.)
Hamilton asked for a judicial inquiry under the Municipal Act, which requires the city to cover costs. Council sets the initial scope of the probe, but thereafter cannot interfere in any aspect of the judge-led inquiry - including the budget.
Independence from political interference was a major selling point for councillors seeking to reassure outraged residents in 2019. A fundamental aspect (of a public inquiry) is regaining public trust and confidence," Ratushny said.
What have we spent on the RHVP inquiry?
The city has spent about $11 million so far, with money pulled from its rainy day reserves. Here's a breakdown:
City expenses like data collection: $210,470
City's outside lawyers: $3,265,470
Inquiry commission lawyers: $6,517,747
Other expenses like consultants: $1,119,830
Matthew Van Dongen is a transportation and environment reporter at for The Spectator. mvandongen@thespec.com