Transferring risk is a big benefit in the popular model for infrastructure projects, but “P3s” can be inflexible, the judge examining Ottawa’s light-rail debacle reported. If something goes wrong and the public partner seeks to enforce its contract rights, Justice William Hourigan found, that can undermine a relationship that’s meant to serve the public for decades. (The Logic)

Talking point: Hourigan’s report landed as the federal government works on its own plan to contract out Via Rail service in central Canada to a private partner that will then build and maintain “high-frequency” rail from Toronto to Quebec City. He flayed Ottawa’s municipal leaders for mismanaging the local project (and misleading his inquiry) and the private builders for not meeting deadlines, but he noted many factors that put pressure on the multibillion-dollar effort, including too-tight timelines for testing a new type of train and for integrating a new type of service into the city’s transit system.