Firing two TTC execs does not equal accountability


Metronews.ca
March 23, 2015
By Glyn Bowerman

So, heads rolled. It was a whole thing.

TTC CEO Andy Byford very publicly fired two of the agency’s managers last week. He then held a news conference the following day, lasting more than an hour, laying bare the Spadina subway extension’s many problems.

Byford revealed the project needed at least $150 million more in funding and would not open until late 2017.

That’s it, then, I guess. It was a tough time for the TTC, but they soldiered on. There were a few casualties, “accountability” was said many times and now we have a plan.

Now we can heal. Right?

I’m not so sure. In fact, I suspect we’ve made a bit of a monster.

For four years, the Ford administration cultivated a culture of fear among city staff. Mayor Tory had a chance to change the tone, but instead joined the angry throng, clamouring for sacrifice.

The real question I have about the Spadina line delays is, “Why did it take so long to hear about it? “

Many knew, or suspected, that things weren’t going smoothly, but didn’t know the full extent.

A transit agency should be able to make evidence-based decisions, be realistic and upfront about its needs and challenges, and, most importantly, have the freedom to be transparent.

A public firing isn’t accountability, transparency is. We know a little more about what went wrong with the subway extension, but we still don’t have the whole story, and we may never get it.

First of all, how do we know the right people were canned?

We don’t know why, exactly, these two - Sameh Ghaly, the TTC’s chief capital officer, and Andy Bertolo, chief project manager in charge of the extension - lost their jobs over this debacle.

The TTC can’t talk openly about the reason for these particular dismissals. Without knowing the precise reason for the firings, it’s just accountability theatre.

There are also numerous claims being made by contractors, against the city, which could be contributing to delays and might cost us even more money - though how much, exactly, Byford wouldn’t, or couldn’t, say.

Over on another project, the city planning department had to wrest control of the Scarborough subway environmental assessment from the TTC because the agency seemed intent on blazing ahead with the line without careful consideration of the greater city planning context.

So we’re stuck with a scared public service, scrambling to build something, anything, fast, and deferring any bad news until it’s staring us all in the face.

This is not a smart way to build a city.