Bombardier Inc rejects Toronto Transit Commission request for public explanation of streetcar delays
No Bombardier Inc. executives will attend Monday’s Toronto Transit Commission board meeting despite the TTC’s request that the company’s CEO appear in person to explain persistent streetcar production delays.
“There’s no provision (in the contract) that says we have to go discuss this publicly before their board,” Bombardier spokesman Marc Laforge said in an interview.
He added that the company is “more than willing” to meet with the TTC’s executives and board members privately.
The TTC is fed up with Bombardier’s performance on the $1.2-billion contract, which should have seen at least 67 new streetcars on Toronto’s streets by now. Instead, Bombardier has said it will only have 16 in service by the end of the year.
At its Oct. 28 meeting, the transit commission’s board directed chairman Josh Colle “to write to the CEO (of) Bombardier requesting he appear before the board at its November commission meeting to explain Bombardier’s failure to meet past deadlines and its delivery commitments for streetcars going forward.”
Laforge said it was not CEO Alain Bellemare who received the request, but Raymond Bachant, president of the Americas division at Bombardier Transportation.
The TTC is also pursuing legal action against Bombardier for damages related to the delays.
“As you might imagine, the litigation leaves us no choice but to decline that invitation before the public board,” Laforge said, adding that the contract lays out a clear dispute-resolution process.
“Our only requirement is that the discussions be in accordance with the resolution process in the contract,” he said.
