Ottawa Business Journal

The head of the Canadian Auto Workers Union has written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, asking him to intervene in Ottawa's light rail project.

Buzz Hargrove has asked the prime minister to block the deal between the city and Siemens, and redirect the contract for construction of the system to Bombardier.

The federal and provincial government are each contributing about one-third of the cost of the $725 million project.

"Ottawa should have no right whatsoever to determine which company will be awarded the work," says the letter, written earlier this week and obtained by The Ottawa Sun.

Mr. Hargrove called the Siemens contract "troubling." The city is currently in negotiations with Siemens on the design and construction of the north-south light rail system.

"I hereby call on you to use the full weight of your office, as prime minister, to stop the City of Ottawa from awarding the contract to Siemens Inc. and to direct the contract to the only Canadian manufacturer, Bombardier," Mr. Hargrove wrote.

Mr. Hargrove says the cars for the Ottawa system will be manufactured in a U.S. plant. He says such a situation would never happen in the United States, where there is a requirement that vehicles contain 60 per cent U.S. content when federal funding is involved.