Transit and candidates

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Heading off another strike



Mayoral candidates disagree on whether a new independent transit commission is the right way to head off another bitter OC Transpo dispute, writes Neco Cockburn.



By Neco Cockburn, The Ottawa Citizen October 7, 2010 Comments (4)

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Larry O'Brien is backing off his threat to lock out OC Transpo drivers and mechanics during warm weather in order to prevent another punishing winter strike.
O'Brien raised some eyebrows last year when he suggested a lockout the next time the workers are without a contract. Now seeking re-election as mayor, and just six months away from the end of the current contract, O'Brien wouldn't repeat the threat in a recent interview.
Negotiations are the first priority, he said. Still, O'Brien added, "as mayor I would not let that very difficult and very awkward strike happen again in the City of Ottawa during the course of winter."
Meanwhile, Jim Watson, one of O'Brien's opponents, criticized the mayor's handling of the issue and said he has talked to OC Transpo drivers and mechanics and managers following the 53-day strike in late 2008 and early 2009, "and the environment is very poisonous."
So although nobody wants buses to stop rolling next year, the signs that problems still simmer between the city and OC Transpo workers are worrisome, especially after Amalgamated Transit Union members this summer rejected a proposed agreement that would have settled some contentious issues.
(Despite the setback, both sides have said their doors remain open.)
Dealing with the possibility of labour disruption will likely fall to the new council, and while mayoral candidates such as Watson and O'Brien believe another strike can be averted, they're also proposing changes to how council governs the $376-million transit system.
They say a different structure could improve the operation and soothe labour unrest, although their proposals are sure to face debate.
Setting up an independent commission to oversee the municipally owned public transportation company -- and replace the transit committee of elected officials that now reports to council -- would send a message that council is making it a priority to repair relationships, Watson said.
It would also allow commission members to take a "tough and clear and consistent and fair approach to negotiations," Watson said.
During the strike, "you had one member of council saying one thing, the mayor saying another, the spokesperson saying a third thing. It was how not to negotiate a settlement."


O'Brien wants a model similar to Hydro Ottawa's board of directors, which is made up of a few city councillors and several members of the public.
Day-to-day operations, management and planning should be handled by professionals, and not councillors whose concern over a route in their ward may take "precedence over some worthwhile long-term thinking," he said.



Watson is calling for a commission made up mostly of councillors, along with citizen representatives with backgrounds in transit, transportation and finance "because all of the wisdom doesn't reside at city hall."
The group would have more autonomy and could focus on day-to-day operations and the system's long-term future, Watson said.


Andy Haydon, another mayoral candidate and former head of the transit commission in place when Ottawa had a regional government, wants a commission only of councillors, because "it worked" back then.



But Councillor Clive Doucet, who's also running for mayor, doesn't want an arm's-length commission at all, saying it only "makes accountability harder."



After initial interest because it's new, a commission "would very quickly disappear into the woodwork and become kind of an invisible hand governing one of the city's most important services," he said.



Problems with accountability have emerged in Toronto, where its transit commission has been the city's sole provider of public transportation since 1954.



Nine councillors are appointed by council to the Toronto Transit Commission. Council sets its budget, and the TTC allocates the money as needed to operate or expand services.



Howard Moscoe, a veteran Toronto councillor and former TTC chairman, said including citizen appointees on a commission would be "absolutely the wrong thing to do."


The TTC used to include citizens, but that often meant "friends of politicians" were among members, he said. "The politicians are directly accountable to the electorate ... when you go to a citizens' body, there's no accountability."



Although only councillors sit on the TTC board now, some say it's still not truly accountable.


After TTC chairman Adam Giambrone in February apologized for poor service, "Did he lose his job?


Get a pay cut? A reprimand, even? No. In fact, the mayor, who appointed him, praised his performance," wrote Toronto Star columnist Royson James.



Around that time, another Toronto councillor had called for citizens with business backgrounds to be included on the commission, but his proposal was rejected.



O'Brien and Watson maintain council should appoint the commission members and could step in if things aren't going well.



Councillor Alex Cullen, chairman of council's current transit committee, said the current structure is more accountable to residents and allows issues aimed at the public good to come to fruition through the political process.



"The notion that you would have some industry experts on a transit commission to oversee highly regarded professionals running the system begs the point as to who actually is responsible for the day-to-day operations," he said.



Ottawa had a transit commission in the 1990s, when OC Transpo was run by the regional government.



In 1999, Transpo was integrated into the regional government administration in an attempt to cut costs and make the organization more efficient. After amalgamation, OC Transpo became the transit services branch in the city.



In June 2007, an O'Brien-appointed task force on transportation recommended an arm's-length operating company reporting to an independent board of directors appointed by council.



The next year, consultants hired by the city found transit might be run "more like a business" through a commission, and that it's possible that time-consuming council debates on day-to-day operational matters could be reduced. A followup report from the city administration essentially agreed.



Cullen bristles at suggestions that councillors delve into day-to-day operations, saying their role is more policy-oriented.



He doesn't think a commission would make a difference during labour talks, noting contract talks with the union have been settled at the table before, and the 2008 strike was an "aberration."



"It's very clear that the strike got entrenched with two combative personalities, and unfortunately the mayor was one. You don't need a transit commission to fix that."


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