Ontario Superior Court Justice Glenn Hainey has granted an injunction to stop Metrolinx from promptly cancelling its $770 million contract with Bombardier for light-rail vehicles to run the Eglinton Crosstown LRT. Based on news coverage, Judge Hainey’s reasoning seemed to have less to do with whether Bombardier deserves to be bounced and more to do with whether Metrolinx was trying to gain bargaining leverage over the Quebec firm. He said he wasn’t persuaded that Metrolinx “intends to terminate the contract for default” and rather has been led to believe that the company is “using the threat of termination for negotiating purposes.” Hainey also said that the “evidence falls short” of establishing that there is an alternate supplier who could deliver the vehicles by the 2018 deadline set out in the contract with Bombardier.
