Thread by @OccTranspo

Today is going to be a pretty decent day at the commission.

We start today with D. Wynne (SEMP) and S. Mammoliti (TUV Rheinland/ISA) then we go to the incomparable Jim Watson 🎉 after 2pm.

This is DAY 14 of Ottawa Light Rail Transit Commission
ottawalrtpublicinquiry.ca/public-hearing…

So I'm following along and it's just a whole lot of talk about the safety and poor SEMP talking about how they provided damage control in a lose-lose situation 🤣

SEMP is now going over the report and talking about the mismatch between the train and the rail, and how this problem compounds over time.

In time the train will grind the rail into working condition - but untill then, the new rail will trash components.

Hard rail is brittle rail. Which leads to rail breaks and he would have preferred softer to suck up more energy and not reflect it back into the train.

But all of this is predicated on that the train eventually beds in and finds a sweet spot. If the train is constantly readjusting because the track is moving or the wheels are degrading at a fast rate, or the profile, that the train can't settle down.

It will just get worse.

SEMP notes the burnt smokey smell reported was reported was likely the lubricants burning off in the wheel structure/bearings.

SEMP points out that putting heat sensors in the wheel is just a Band-Aid solution - in a light rail system there's no reason for the wheels to ever get that hot.

The issue is to figure out what's causing the disease rather than trying it treat the symptom 💕

Now for inquiry time with the Mayor.

Always rolling with the "I don't know and I don't remember" - earning that slippery nickname.

At least we got the aggressive, if not slightly vicious, Counsel on the helm.

Using the WhatsApp Transcript on automatic fire to built up proof - that he is quite well aware.

I presume as we get deeper that's going to be used to entrap. They're going to nail them with a highly damning point of evidence and of course he'll want to say that "I did not know" - but of course it's been suggested that he does know.

Popcorn at the ready

Counsel getting him to admit that he's seeking out data to make sure that he stays informed.

Jim points out it's because he has an obligation to make sure that it's safe.

I don't think Counsel cares.

Counsel keeps reiterating that he's being informed by multiple sources.

C: So effectively lowering [the criteria to allow the train to pass]
J: No, just [modifying it]

C: [So you submitted to them your idea on telling them how they could do it]
J: [Well I submitted an idea]

You can taste the Teflon 🤣

C: you were getting real time updates
J: I don't know how real time it is
C: when you're getting multiple updates a day we can consider that real time
J: [I don't always see them]

Lol like an eel.

Now we're talking about a burner phone message on Reddit. I totally forgot about that whistle blower. Lost in the see of bullshit

Even though it was posted in the WhatsApp the mayor says he's never seen it before 😂

The mayor points out that this sort of messaging is not very credible and he expects it to never reach his desk anyways.

Because it lacks credibility. Thus unimportant.

I guess lessons not learned about treating threats as real. Especially when it correlates with known facts.

I guess this explains Ottawa poor responses to emergencies - I'm not keen on promoting a culture of hypochondriacs, but you have take threats credible until you can prove them otherwise.

Or you know your train project runs 5 years late and derails...

The mayor continues to downplay the potential whistleblower - from his perspective it didn't seem that bad - if I heard him correctly.

But then comes out in the next sentence to tell us that RTG made four failures.

Correlation does not equal causation but when there's smoke...

Counsel keeps looping back to try to get the mirror to say that he was surrounding himself with information and keeping himself informed to make decisions.

If you're planning to ambush somebody don't be so obvious 🤣

Jim make statements of being distant from the proj day to day

A little bit of back and forth snappy snap.

Definitely a spicy back and forth.

Finally some life 🤣

The mayor reminds us that he chairs FEDCO - and that the chair tends to have more information than anyone below them and that's normal.

And we'll also remember with yesterday's testimony the chair can also decide what's relevant.

And we'll also remember that fedco is the face and the controlling body for the Ottawa LRT Construction.

Which means the mayor basically has his finger on the pulse.

And the mayor can shape, choose and direct anything relating to LRT

Which if we go back, we all know that fedco isn't a shining example of democracy in action.

Jim still claims there's no impropriety.

He is Mayor and Fedco chair and that gives him an elevated position.

I'm looking forward to see where in questioning goes.

The commission Counsel just cut off the Mayor - "Can I finish?"

You can cut the air with a knife.

Now Councel is leading asking - why not just add everyone to the messaging platform?

Jim slips like a eel.

I see where he's going now. He's going to go and try to entrap the whole Manconi "I didn't want to be bothered with Council asking questions"

Now the question is did that leadership come from Jim.

Jim tells the counsel not to worry - that everyone was getting information through fedco and the transit commission meetings (which I believe happened once a month on a Thursday and every other Wednesday?) If not cancelled

So 3/MTH updates versus daily WhatsApp chat - equal

Counsel is going for the jugular. He's asked, when was Council ever told about your private WhatsApp meeting where you shared hourly and daily info?

Jim is trying to slip. He admits that everyone kept it secret about the conversations - but doesn't know if they know 😂

He's now conflating that City Council was okay with not getting hourly updates. He's also alluding that he told the general manager about the we're not going to update you all the time policy.

Which he's alluding to, to reduce political headaches

Now the question is can this guy get the mayor to admit. We're about to witness history in the making.

But yeah it's feeling like there's definitely a concerning effort between the GM, Manager Manconi and Jim to reduce the amount of information being give to council to reduce headaches and all the emotion that council is known for.

Of course this is speculation not libel 😂

Counsel isn't not letting this eel go. This guy is firing off automatic nails. Jim's definitely wiggling here.

City Law steps in to bail Jim out.

Counsel is going for the throat again. "You knew of these messages. You knew they are important and you chose not to disclose them"

Jim said yea, I know of the message.

Jim is wiggling

C: Yes or No!

Jim wiggles. Says that this information wasn't that important.

Mayor just dug the grave.

C: Points out that apparently everyone that was on the message just somehow agrees that they're all going to treat this private message as private - and no one had any type of conversation to agree to secrecy?

And nobody mentions this private chat in any of their sworn testimony

Holy blood sports.

Counsel finishes his savagery with the remark as Jim implied - which is the likely reason is because no one asked them about it directly.

Counsel smarty implies with all this unique information, no one thought to comment about this chats existence?

Oooof. Yeah Jim's in the hole now and it's just pummel him into dust time.

"And at no point you tell her (when you were interviewed under oath before) that there was a private chat between [these people] and it was an important way of us to communicate"

Once he said the information wasn't important and that he decided no one needed to know. Now the Counsel is showing that he avoided mentioning the chats existing and we will find out why shortly (or the implied nefariousness)

Now he is forcing him to say. That this system is bypasses the normal systems of the Council project and checks and balances.

Jim says [but we put out lots of memos and there's so many of them]

The part he left out is after he agrees likely conspires about memos content.

And also keep in mind because he is in controls the two major bodies.

Again can dictate how people react to things by shaping what they're allowed to see in hear/know.

Which allows you to shape how people vote.

So democracy counter argument is moot if inputs are manipulated.

Not trying to imply that Jim here is an evil or nefarious person, but like all people, we've all avoided writing a tweet because we don't want to deal with the psychotics on the other end.

My guess that's what happened here.

And I don't blame him. Jim is correct that it doesn't matter if council knew more, because at the end of the day their ability to change what is coming down the pipe is grossly limited, and they are not rail experts by any means.

But that said it's a pretty shitty attitude, especially when you're dealing with a criticality event. When everything goes to hell that's when you put your cards faceup on the table.

Council might not know how to run rail, but they do know how to spend taxpayers dollars.

And by putting our elected officials in the dark it puts the public in the dark. Then when things go horribly wrong, no one's able to seek solutions, understand or work collectively.

And in my opinion, most of the BS transpired has been because of corpo/trade/personal secrets.

I understand humans error, misjudge, misstep or do less than savory stuff for whatever reason (I mean who has never slacked a little at work) and they are not going to volunteer that information.

But you can't be doubling down, or it's speaks to harmful intent.

It should be mentioned that the above is me talking. I'm speculating where the above conversation is going to go.

So we just got off break and I was just catching up on what I wrote.

My guess is over the break the City lawyer briefed the Mayor. Will notice that if he has an attitude change

Now showing the July 5th slide deck. Pointing to "Once RTG trial running has been achieved council will be informed"

Counsel smartly points out that this means 'once it's all done and dusted and perfectly wrapped up in a bow tie - we will tell you that everything is okay'

😂

I'm thinking the commission's reading my tweets. I made the exact same remarks a few days ago.

Suffice to say feels good. Exactly what I would have said at that moment.

I have no love for slippery legal word dodging, to protect unsavory behavior.

Jim's response was off topic to the question. Just a whole lot of dodging.

Counsel is not engaging with the dodge this time, but reframing his attack.

He's pointing out that the trial running was basically a nuclear bomb site - and of course that wasn't conveyed to council

Jim reminds Counsel that whatever is in the memo and the slide deck is whatever they got.

Now talking about the why. Just running out the clock about stuff.

But still avoiding saying again that information flow was choked.

Now deflecting abt public health having covid updates.

Some spam voice with an audiobook or what would be erotica came on the line.

Counsel points out that the mayor and friends knew about the restarts and that was not being conveyed to the council.

Jim points out again that we're only going to inform Council when everything is dusted.

Wiggling and hiding behind this statement.

Counsel points out that if this information wasn't being conveyed everyone would think things are going well right?

Wiggle wiggle wiggle this eel

Back and forth.

More wiggle. Holding onto that "we will report when it's complete"

Heavily paraphrased this is what's going on right now - back and forth and around in circles. 🤣

C: "Council was getting updates about everything but trial running?"

Jim: "We were very clear that were only going to report when it done (and working fine)"

Oh I think Jim slipped. He just said at no point did anyone ask for the daily information on testing. @ShawnMenard1, my memory is a little foggy but I think it's time to break out the 2x4 😂

When it was done, not before, or during and we lived up to that commitment*

Counsel: [so you modified the passing criteria and then you changed the threshold to pass, and then you didn't convey any of that to counsel or other gatekeepers.]

So to an outside observer wouldn't you consider this misleading?

Jim: *Eel motions*

Councsel goes for another jugular attack citing what Deans said yesterday - and it was just a whole bunch of *no, I don't think so. Wiggle wiggle no direct response"

Now @smwgilbert is being publicly roasted.

Oh Lord. So this whatsUp chat they're plotting against @smwgilbert where the mayor has stead specifically that she will be removed from her position if she doesn't stop criticizing OC Transpo.

Directing Alan and Manconi to deal with her grief.

Shit.

Now implying that she did all these things because she enjoys the limelight of the media and that her actions were frequently nonsense, and he worried that she would become a martyr - "woe is she"

And he states that basically she should have stepped down if she didn't like what was going on and that she shouldn't have said anything bad about anyone because of the code of conduct.

Hiding behind bylaws. Jim says that she undermining the corporation (city) she serves.

Of course, this is all the flaming pile of garbage - especially when your actions are questionable.

The duty of any public official is to the public.

Not to hide or protect the institution or its membership from backlash.

Trash mentality in my opinion.

He sounds he is far more concerned about the image, brand and posturing that's required to run politics - rather than the reason why perhaps people might whistle blow on what seems like a cabal making decisions - which ends up having merit.

I'm starting to see Jim's political style. He sticks to a fact however loose that fact is as a means to shut down/control the conversation. This tactic would be very effective in a 1v1 from a lower power position.

Because you can't argue that statement is incorrect.

And I guess 90% of the time when he's talking to people he's always in the power position.

So when you raise your grievance and he says well it's there in black and white and we did what we said we were going to do.

He then can ignore your grievance and move on.

Which of course is weak because you're grievance isn't that they didn't say what they were going to do - it's all the other stuff that they did around it and perhaps the outcome surrounding it - like we're dealing with here.

Wardel pops and goes after Counsel for cutting off the Mayor. Chair steps in and tells him to breath, and you object to me.

I don't know what caused them to snap like that. Perhaps a ploy?

Counsel points out that WhatsApp was a body of people that are the decision makers.

Jim points out that they didn't make decisions there.

Councsel points out yet you decided what information gets passed on.

Jim deflects with the democratic process

Which again is a garbage defense, because if the only part you feed the democratic process is the favorable massaged and curated data...

Guess what you get...

Favorable massaged and curated results.

Jim continues to defend his process as being expedient and necessary and non nefarious.

I think by this count this is the sixth time he's said this.

Meanwhile the only reason they found out about this chat is by connecting the dots from another chat by chance.

And it's only by them forcing the hand of the city to produce the chat that were only able to see into the cabal chat.

Nobody was forthcoming and as the mayor noted it slipped his mind, it didn't seem important.

Counsel finished with some softballs and Jim tossed some virtue about this role - fair enough, its a public figurehead role.

Now for RTG to grill the mayor. Starting with "So are you proud of the what you done?" 😂

RTG is softballing about the quality of the system and how everything is great. Jim points out he agrees - when it is working.

Hahahah RTG brought up that some people might call it "World Class" - Mayor sidesteps acknowledge that was his words from I believe his campaign 4y ago.

RTG brings him back from being slippering in the clouds.

Looks like trying to say he rail roaded the project.

RTG: [I am simply suggesting that you made a point to become more involved in this file]

Man... not trying to conceal the plot here :P

All right well that's it for today. Nothing too important afterwards. Down til monday.

Back to Trailerban monitoring and the fallout that's going to come from the Mayor's words.

@threadreaderapp roll up