It seems, despite an exhausting pursuit, the ONTC and the Ontario Liberal Government is still more than a train car apart.
There are still significant, unanswered questions regarding the process in which the GO Transit Rail Refurbishment contract from Metrolinx was awarded to CAD.
During Monday night's city council meeting, the City of North Bay put forth a motion resolving that Nipissing MPP Monique Smith and all members of the provincial cabinet request the Auditor General to review the awarding of the contract to CAD to determine if the province followed its own procurement policies.
Two weeks ago, City Council asked the Auditor General to review the awarding of the $120 million dollar contract that was made between Metrolinx and Canadian Allied Diesel Railway Industries.
The Auditor General has advised the City of North Bay that the ‘Auditor General's Act’ does permit the Auditor General to undertake special assignments but only if they are formally requested by the Assembly, the Standing Committee on Public Accounts or by a Minister of the Crown.
Under the Ontario Ministry of Finance's Supply Chain Code of Ethics it states “contracting and purchasing activities must be fair, transparent and conducted in a view to obtaining the best value for public money.”
Councilor Dave Mendocino, who put forth the motion, says that the city must and will continue the push in asking Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty to contact the city on the issue.
“We have not heard from him,” says Mendocino. “He is nowhere to be seen in North Bay.”
Councilor Mendocino says that there are many questions being asked by the council that they feel they deserve answers to.
“Why wasn't a sight visit done,” he asks. “Why didn't they do due diligence before awarding this contract?”
The request for a review was expanded, not just to MPP Monique Smith, but to all ministers to see if anyone will stand up and voice their concerns to the Auditor General.
Mendocino says that council has made it unanimously clear that the city must do whatever they can to get a review and push as many buttons as possible.
“Council has spoken loudly,” said Mendocino.
Councilor Chris Mayne says that he understands all the concerns and is glad to see this motion move forward.
“This situation has been frustrating for everyone,” he says.
Mayne says that time is of the essence since train construction is scheduled to start soon.
He's also concerned that more delays could mean a higher potential for penalties.
“It's really a terrible situation for the community,” he says “A huge loss.”
Mayne says that there has been some discussion about going forward but wonders exactly what the strategy is and if there's the potential to build future relationships with ONTC's sister crown corporation, Metrolinx.
He says that while it's frustrating for the city to have lost the contract, they hope that the Provincial Government and Metrolinx will take note of what the city is capable of and will hopefully consider North Bay with regards to any future contract considerations.
When asked if the issue is dead in the water, Mayne remains optimistic, saying that there are some good points being raised.
He believes that the $2 million dollar savings on the initial contract price was made from a very narrow point of view. Mayne says that from a board perspective, Metrolinx made the correct decision but from a broader Provincial and municipal perspective, it makes no sense at all.
“From all the effort that's gone into creating jobs and encouraging the economy in Northern Ontario, it's just gone 180 degrees in the direction that we'd hoped.”
