Bob Chiarelli: My statement regarding LRT in Ottawa and Brian Guest's email | Unpublished
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Ottawa, Ontario
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Bob Chiarelli served as Ottawa Mayor from 2000-2006. He was elected to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario on March 4, 2010 in a by-election in the riding of Ottawa West-Nepean. Bob was previously MPP for the riding of Ottawa West from 1987 to 1997, and he served as the parliamentary assistant to the Chair of the Management Board in 1987-88. Bob was appointed Minister of Transportation in October 2011, in addition to the role of Minister of Infrastructure which he held since August 2010. He served as MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean until 2018. Bob Chiarelli is currently retired after running for Mayor again in the 2022 Ottawa municipal election, where he finished 3rd behind Katherine McKenny and Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.

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Bob Chiarelli: My statement regarding LRT in Ottawa and Brian Guest's email

November 21, 2021

Several days after Council voted to go the Auditor General route to investigate the LRT project, I was interviewed on a radio talk show and at the end of the interview I mentioned, in passing, that a new Council next year could still decide to go the Judicial Inquiry route to investigate the project.

Exactly 2 days later I received a shrill email from LRT consultant and advisor Brian Guest incorrectly berating me for a number of things, and out of the blue saying a Judicial Inquiry would “screw” someone who has been a “friend”. I interpreted this “friend” he referred to as being himself.

Brian Guest’s email spreads a lot of blame around, and in addition he has been positioned to act as Mayor Watson’s de facto architect and overseer of the LRT project;

It is clear that my mentioning, on the public record, that a Judicial Inquiry was still possible next year after the next municipal election, even after an Auditor’s General Report, is what has generated Brian Guest’s vitriolic email (see below).

My question is why?