Renee Amilcar leaves OC Transpo, path forward is unclear

Introduction 

Renée Amilcar announced early this month that she would resign from her position as General Manager at OC Transpo, and move to Montreal as head of Mobilé Infra Québec. This has both written annd unwritten implications for the future of OC Transpo. This indicates problems bubbling beneath the surface, ones that will be increasingly hard to fix as the institution continues to fossilize. We need reform, and we need reform now if we want to pursue a successful transit policy in Ottawa. 

(I apologize for any weird formatting issues and the short length. I am abroad, so this is hastily written from my phone as opposed to my laptop, as usual) 

Something is Rotten in the State of Denmark

General Managers resigning to take new positions is not unusual. And in any case, it could be a totally innocent explanation - maybe she missed home, in Montreal. 

 However, I believe the timing of events in our case allows us to make a few deductions. 

First, the union is becoming agitated. On the City Council meeting on 28 May, ATU279, the union representing bus drivers and other transit workers, walked out, saying they had been “bypassed” by council. A transit strike is never fun, certainly not for the managers, and she probably did not want that headache. Word is also that Renee Amilcar had been toxic internally, and she may have wanted to get ahead of those allegations by removing herself to Montreal. 

The next stop on our investigation train is a December exchange between Riley Brockington and Renée Amilcar, in which he questioned Wendy Stephanson, the city manager, on her job performance. Amilcar called those comments a “personal attack,” which Brockington said was “unfortunate.” Despite Brockington’s seeming intention for her to ask for more money, she may have interpreted this as a signal that under heat from constituents, council would rather sacrifice her than themselves, and they would not have her back. 

A third idea is speculative, and I note that there is currently no evidence for (or against) this theory. 

New Ways to Bus, originally known as the Bus Route Review, was conceived and implemented as Amilcar’s great project at OC Transpo. It may be that New Ways to Bus was a flop, and she is jumping ship before the results come in. 

Do I think it was just these three factors? No. Montreal is her home and if nothing else, an attractive offer to return may have combined with at least one (but maybe more) of these factors to induce her to leave OC Transpo. I personally think at least one of these was a major. Actor in her decision to leave. But I am not her, so I cannot say for certain.

What Happens Next

Troy Charter, director of service delivery and rail operations, will take over temporarily as GM when Amilcar leaves on 18 July. In the meantime, we need to search for a new GM. 

I’ve written in the past about the need for urgent and wide reaching reform to improve transit operations and return public trust to public transit. That need stands, and in fact, in the face of service cuts and budget crises, is more urgent than ever. 

Who do we need? We need someone to look at our practices with fresh eyes - someone who is an expert in operations. Because of the urgent need for reform, we need a GM who is not afraid of political pressure, who is willing to tell City Council what they need, and willing to advocate for the system they’re paid so much to manage. 

Institutional change is not easy. OC Transpo is (dare I say) demoralized, mismanaged, and much maligned. A single GM won’t fix every problem, but by raising awareness of it to Transit Committee, advocating for the system publicly, and starting the long process of turning around a corporate culture, they can be the person we need to improve our transit system and make it a first choice for transportation in Ottawa. 

This, of course, assumes that Council doesn’t choose a yes-man (or yes-woman). I have a growing suspicion that our municipal government is incapable of self-awareness, and that they genuinely believe that OC Transpo is doing great and they should keep doing more of the same! Ultimately, under the political influence-zero transparency model, there is not much we can directly do to influence the course of action they take. But I encourage everyone to write to their councillor, asking them to ask hard questions about the state of transit and whether the GM candidates have the aptitude and fortitude to tackle our problems. 

We need leadership and vision from both Council and management. This is an opportunity, and we shouldn’t squander it on political backscratching and egos. 

Until next time.