Financial Update for Zero-Emission Bus Program Funding

The recitals

• the report entitled, Financial Update for Zero-Emission Bus ProgramFunding (ACS2023-FSD-FIN-0001), is before Council for approval of funding authorities linked to the Infrastructure Canada Grant and Canada Infrastructure Bank loan agreement
• the 2022-2026 Transit Commission has not had an opportunity to debate nor ask staff questions about this program in an open and public forum
• the 2022 OLRT Public Inquiry states “Council and any other person or entity (such as the City of Ottawa’s Transit Commission) charged with project oversight must be able to exercise meaningful oversight of critical decisions made by city staff”
• the 2022 OLRT Public Inquiry further states “Public entities, and their representatives, should take care to ensure that the priorities they set for complex infrastructure projects are appropriately applied throughout the planning and implementation stages of the project”
• the 2022 OLRT Public Inquiry further states “Introducing new or untested project elements (including technology and workforce) increases project risk”
• the 2022 City of Ottawa Office of the Auditor General Sprint 2 report specifically defines that “the procurement processes for the charging infrastructure and associated equipment” is not within scope of the Auditor General report
• the 2022 City of Ottawa Office of the Auditor General Sprint 2 report Management Response highlights the heavy reliance on the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) Zero-emission bus replacement program, and that the 2022-2026 Transit Commission has not had the opportunity to confirm that therequirements of the TTC procurement model meet the geographic and climatic requirements for the City of Ottawa.