Hundreds of millions originally allocated for Ottawa transit by the federal and provincial governments may not be available for future projects, despite assurances from those upper levels of government, says the City of Ottawa. 

'Although this project has been cancelled, I should inform you that the federal $200-million commitment to Ottawa public transit remains in place.'—Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon, in a Jan. 19 letter

Coun. Maria McRae, chair of Ottawa's transportation committee, said she asked city manager Kent Kirkpatrick at a meeting last week for a clarification about the status of $400 million originally promised for Ottawa's north-south light rail project, which was cancelled by city council on Dec. 14.

McRae said she was shocked to learn the funding agreement among the governments expired on Dec. 1.

"My understanding is the $400 million is gone," she said.

She added that the city can reapply for the funding, but it's not guaranteed.

Money still on the table: Cannon, Watson

That's not what the federal and provincial governments have told the Ottawa-based transit advocacy organization Transport 2000 Canada, said spokesman David Jeanes.

Jeanes's organization wrote to clarify the status of the funding after council voted on Dec. 12 to cancel its light rail contract with Siemens-PCL/Dufferin.

It received a response dated Dec. 19 from Ottawa West-Nepean MPP Jim Watson that read: "Our Ministry of Public Infrastructure renewal made it clear (as did the premier and I) that our [funds] were still on the table and that we looked forward to reviewing a business case and ridership study for any new proposal."

Transport Minister Lawrence Cannon similarly responded in a letter dated Jan. 19: "Although this [north-south light rail] project has been cancelled, I should inform you that the federal $200-million commitment to Ottawa public transit remains in place."

Cannon said the federal government was also looking forward to reviewing proposals, and clarified that they must pass a federal environmental assessment to proceed.

Jeanes said he read that the money was still there pending the routine approval of future transit projects, and he was not sure why the city had a different interpretation.

City to spend light rail money on buses

Meanwhile, the city's transportation committee voted last week to re-allocate $145 million set aside for light rail to other transit priorities such as new buses, even though the federal and provincial governments have specified that their contributions to future transit projects require a matching contribution from the city.

The federal and provincial governments originally committed $200 million each to the north-south light rail project that was to run from Barrhaven Centre to the University of Ottawa, and that was approved by city council in July.

In December, the new city council voted to cut off the downtown portion of the line, and the federal and provincial governments then said they needed time to review the significant change. On Dec. 12, council voted to cancel the rail line altogether.