Richard C. Ducharme P.Eng. (born 1948) has served as an administrator for several

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

transit and transportation authorities, most recently as General Manager of Transportation for the City of Edmonton. Ducharme graduated from the

University of Waterloo The University of Waterloo (UWaterloo, UW, or Waterloo) is a Public university, public research university located in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is on of land adjacent to uptown Waterloo and Waterloo Park. The university also op ...

as a civil engineer in 1972 and joined

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Ministry of Transportation A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

. He then moved on to

GO Transit GO Transit is a regional public transit system serving the Greater Golden Horseshoe region of Ontario, Canada. With its hub at Union Station in Toronto, GO Transit's green-and-white trains and buses serve a population of more than seven mil ...

as a transit coordinator in 1976. He served in various roles and eventually became managing director in 1993. In 1999 he left GO Transit to join the

Toronto Transit Commission The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) is the primary public transport agency in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, operating the majority of the city's transit bus, bus and rail services. It is the oldest and largest of the urban transit service providers ...

as General Manager, replacing David Gunn who announced his retirement on October 7, 1998

Ducharme initially had a better relationship with former TTC Chair

Howard Moscoe Howard Moscoe (born November 28, 1939)https://gencat4.eloquent-systems.com/webcat/request/Action?SystemName=City+of+Toronto+Archives&UserName=wa+public&Password=&CMD_%28DetailRequest%29 &ProcessID=6000_1980%280%29&KeyValues=KEY_315373 is a former ...

and other politicians. However, after a

wildcat strike A wildcat strike is a strike action undertaken by unionised workers without union leadership's authorization, support, or approval; this is sometimes termed an unofficial industrial action. The legality of wildcat strikes varies between countries ...

staged by the

Amalgamated Transit Union The Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) is a labor organization in the United States and Canada that represents employees in the public transit industry. Established in 1892 as the Amalgamated Association of Street Railway Employees of America, the u ...

, Local 113, Ducharme found out that there were talks between Moscoe and ATU President Bob Kinnear that bypassed TTC management. Ducharme stated that these discussions undermined his authority to negotiate with the union. He also criticized Moscoe for making Bombardier the sole supplier of new subway cars for the TTC, arguing that the lack of competition in the bidding process would cost the city $100 million. Moscoe claimed that he had a responsibility to intervene to prevent another strike, and that the Bombardier contract would keep jobs in Canada. Ducharme stated on June 6, 2006, that he would step down on November 30, 2006, but his departure was fast-tracked by Moscoe and the other TTC Commissioners after Ducharme made his criticism of Moscoe public. Ducharme was replaced on June 10, 2006, on an interim basis by TTC General Manager of Operations Gary Webster. On October 10, 2006, Ducharme started a new job in

Edmonton, Alberta Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

as General Manager of Transportation, overseeing the expansion of the city's roads and light-rail transit system. After only four months in the post, he announced his resignation on February 8, 2007, effective April 13, 2007.

References

External links

Ducharme's TTC Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ducharme, Richard C. 1948 births Canadian engineers Franco-Ontarian people Living people Toronto Transit Commission general managers Edmonton Transit Service University of Waterloo alumni

See also

References

External links