Latest news with #WendyStephanson
CTV News
3 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
Renée Amilcar leaving OC Transpo in July: Memo
Renée Amilcar, the City of Ottawa's general manager of Transit Services, will be leaving her role next month, City Manager Wendy Stephanson says. The news was announced in a memo sent to city councillors and the mayor Tuesday. Stephanson says Amilcar will be leaving the City of Ottawa to 'pursue a new career opportunity outside the organization.' Her last day with the city will be July 18. Amilcar came to Ottawa in October 2021, after having previously served as executive director of bus services for the Société de Transports Montréal. Amilcar became the head of OC Transpo as the transit system in Ottawa was dealing with low ridership and a litany of issues on the newly launched light rail line. In her nearly four years with the city, she has overseen the construction of the expansion of Line 1 of LRT, the delayed launch of Lines 2 and 4 of LRT, and the New Ways to Bus overhaul of the OC Transpo bus network. OC Transpo is facing significant funding issues, with lower ridership and higher costs contributing to projected shortfalls of between $120 million and $150 million over the next several years. The City has been seeking financial support from the federal and provincial governments to fill the gap. The 2025 budget included a $36 million line item for funding from upper levels of government that has yet to be confirmed. In the meantime, fares have increased, train frequency on Line 1 has been reduced, and the New Ways to Bus reorganization has resulted in 74,000 fewer hours of bus service each year. In 2023, Amilcar announced OC Transpo and Rideau Transit Group (RTG) were working with Alstom to redesign the axles and wheel hub assemblies on every vehicle on Line 1, something Amilcar called 'a permanent fix' that would address issues that had been affecting the line for years, including a derailment of an LRT vehicle at Tunney's Pasture Station in August 2021 and a 28-day shutdown in July and August 2023 after a routine inspection discovered excess grease on an axle hub assembly. Work on the redesign was briefly paused in 2024 as Alstom and RTG traded opinions on the source of the issues affecting the line, but councillors were told last September that the work had resumed. Stephanson says Troy Charter, director of Transit Service and Rail Operations, will serve as interim general manager of Transit Services. 'I recognize that ensuring strong, stable leadership during this time is of paramount importance—particularly as we continue to deliver safe, reliable transit service to residents while advancing major city-wide transformational projects,' Stephanson wrote. 'An executive recruitment process for a permanent GM of Transit Services will be launched, and an update will be provided to council.' Stittsville Coun. Glen Gower, chair of the city's transit committee, told Newstalk 580 CFRA in a statement that Amilcar led OC Transpo through a period of unprecedented change. 'Under her leadership we've seen stabilization of LRT line 1 and the successful launch of Line 2 & 4. She's led the transition from diesel to electric buses, implemented a data-driven approach to management, and changed the culture at OC Transpo to improve transparency and accountability to council and residents. All while managing significant funding challenges since the pandemic,' Gower wrote. 'She's earned the trust of council and her leadership at OC Transpo will have a positive impact on our city for many years to come. I will miss working with her, very big shoes to fill.' Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney, chair of the city's transportation committee, told Newstalk 580 CFRA's Ottawa Now with guest host Chris Holski that he's been critical of Amilcar in the past, but credited her for the rollout of Lines 2 and 4 and for improving transparency at OC Transpo. 'A lot of the things that she was asked to do by council, she achieved, and now we have an opportunity for new leadership and it's going to have a whole series of criteria that we've only really identified in the last few years, based on what's happened,' he said. 'Who is going to be the visionary that's going to help us redirect now that we've gone through the housekeeping duties of things? How are we going to get this train working more effectively? That's what I want to see.'
CBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Renée Amilcar to leave OC Transpo
Renée Amilcar, the general manager of transit services at OC Transpo, is leaving her position after less than four years, according to a memo sent to city councillors Tuesday. Amilcar is leaving to "pursue a new career opportunity," wrote city manager Wendy Stephanson in the memo. Her last day on the job will be July 18. Troy Charter, the current director of transit service delivery and rail operations for OC Transpo, will serve as the interim general manager after Amilcar departs, according to Stephanson. "Renée has served the City with dedication and professionalism, leading the Transit Services team through a period of significant operational transformation, modernization and service improvement," she wrote. "I want to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to Renée for her contributions and wish her continued success in her future endeavours." Amilcar has presided over a tumultuous period at OC Transpo. Her tenure at the head of the organization has been marred by ongoing technical problems with the city's relatively new light rail system, dwindling ridership and unpopular changes to the city's bus network. A longtime public transit official from Montreal, Amilcar was hired in September 2021 and started in her new job the following month. At the time, the city said she was selected following "an extensive, international executive search." She replaced John Manconi, who left after a 32-year career with the city amid continuing fallout from Ottawa's problem-plagued LRT launch. Amilcar is an industrial engineer who worked at Pratt & Whitney Canada, Nortel Networks and Montreal's Société de Transport de Montréal (STM), where she became executive director of bus services in 2014.
CBC
20-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
City of Ottawa hires new planning chief following lengthy search
The City of Ottawa has hired a new general manager of planning, a top position that's been vacant since August 2022. Marcia Wallace will assume the role of general manager of planning, development and building services (PDBS) on June 16, the city announced in a memo on Tuesday. The hiring follows a lengthy search during which a panel of councillors approved paying an executive search firm to find suitable candidates. Wallace will oversee the city's planning and heritage files, including development approvals, real estate and economic development, and infrastructure projects that aren't related to transportation. She will take responsibility for planning at a time when provincial policies around housing and development are evolving, and as the city is due to approve a major zoning bylaw within the coming year. Wallace is "a true public sector leader" with "vast experience" in planning and public administration, city manager Wendy Stephanson said in Tuesday's memo. "I am confident she will lead the team in PDBS to success in an inspiring and empowering way while delivering on the priorities of Council, the organization and the evolving landscape of our city," Stephanson said. A difficult vacancy to fill A registered planning professional with a PhD in planning, Wallace most recently served as chief administrative officer of the Corporation of the County of Prince Edward for five years. She previously worked in the provincial government for nearly 20 years, according to the memo. The city had struggled to find the right candidate for the planning job, with experts previously telling CBC that the lengthy hiring process reflected the fact that it's a pressure-filled role for which there is a limited pool of qualified talent. The cities of Toronto and Hamilton have also been hunting for a top planning bureaucrat. The portfolio Wallace will oversee was recently restructured, with several of its past responsibilities assumed by a new strategic initiatives department created last April, leaving a "pure planning department" that is "laser-focused" on meeting the city's housing targets. Wallace will replace Vivi Chi, who has been serving as interim general manager of planning, real estate and economic development since January 2023, when the previous interim manager Don Herweyer retired after 18 months in the role.
