Hope Springs Eternal....

Good news this week. The city may be able to reach a settlement in the light rail lawsuit which, if it goes to court, could end up costing taxpayers close to half a billion bucks in damages, professional and legal fees etc. etc. etc.

Mitigation of damages in this case reportedly depends on the city's willingness to allow Siemans and St. Mary's Cement to build the north-south portion of the new transit plan. You will remember that Siemans and St. Mary's Cement had signed contracts to build the north-south portion of the old transit plan. Cancellation of these contracts -- after Transport Minister John Baird pulled the feds' share of the costs -- resulted in the lawsuit.

Lawsuits are frequently settled out of court. The negotiations are usually very sensitive, held behind closed doors, not in front of the TV cameras or on the front pages of the daily newspaper.

There's a considerable degree of similarity between this type of negotiation involving plaintiffs and defendants in a civil action and negotiation between management and union during a strike situation. In either situation, loose lips can sink ships !

The city is the defendant in the LRT lawsuit. Thus it behooves councillors to behave in a manner appropriate to defendants in such a situation. This means all must sing from the same page in the songbook.

Unfortunately Councillor Clive Doucet seems can't seem to find the songbook, let alone the correct page. He thinks all the details regarding any possible settlement offers should be released to council -- presumably so he can be front and centre of the debate.

Councillor Doucet has accused other councillors -- Alex Cullen (who chairs the Transportation Committee), Jacques Legendre, Marianne Wilkinson, Doug Thompson and Gord Hunter-- of muzzling city solicitor Rick O'Connor.

Councillors Cullen, Legendre, Wilkinson, Thompson and Hunter have it right. As Councillor Cullen said: council should tread carefully when pursuing this issue.

Councillor Doucet should let the city's legal department do its job without him second-guessing, interfering or otherwise injecting himself into a very delicate situation. But why should we be surprised ? He wasn't a team player during the sensitive bus strike negotiations, going public and breaking ranks with the other members of council. So why should we expect him to put a zipper on his mouth during the LRT lawsuit settlement discussions ?

The man likes to see his name in the paper. Any opportunity will do -- even though it might result in a disaster for the city. A disaster in this case would be the plaintiffs walking away from settlement discussions and demanding their day in court. The political process is no way to resolve this legal issue.

It's rumored that Councillor Doucet wants to be mayor. What a horrible thought !

HAPPY EASTER

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