Hours before a scheduled meeting with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to discuss the Just Transition bill, Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson doled out hundreds of millions of dollars in transit grants to electrify the city’s bus fleet..Wilkinson — along with Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, Calgary Skyview MP George Chahal and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc — announced $325 million to purchase 259 battery-powered buses. .Over the next few years, Calgary will also complete infrastructure upgrades to two existing transit garages at Spring Gardens and Anderson, including the installation of charging cabinets and dispensers with spare capacity for future electric bus purchases. .The grants will also support equipment procurement, training, design and engineering services as well as utility works, NRCan said in a release..“Today's announcement for the electrification of Calgary's public transit system shows how collaboration and partnership between federal and local governments can result in meaningful investments that have a real impact on Canadian's daily lives," Wilkinson said in a statement..Mayor Jyoti Gondek was equally enthusiastic.. Jyoti GondekAt least three city councillors and a manager with the City of Calgary filed complaints about the behaviour of Stephen Carter, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek's former chief of staff. ."This contribution will allow us to transition the transit fleet to zero-emission vehicles more quickly and adds to funding already secured through Council. When it comes to climate change, we are committed to taking actions which are both economically and environmentally sustainable,” she said..The dollars are conditional on the signing of funding/contribution agreements with the city. It’s on top of an additional $165 million from the Canada Infrastructure Bank announced in February. .Speaking at a press conference in Calgary Monday morning, Premier Smith there has been no request for provincial funding from either the city or the Feds..While she congratulated Calgary for obtaining the dollars, she said she would have preferred the dollars go toward hydrogen powered buses and said the province is working on a longer term plan for dual fuel diesel and hydrogen trucks and heavy duty vehicles as opposed to battery powered vehicles..”We think that may be a more practical approach,” she said..NRCan said the government has plans to spend more than $14.9 billion by 2029 years on top of $24.8 billion it has doled out since 2015. Applications under the Zero Emission Transit Fund remain open to applications for public transit and school bus fleets, it said..It comes ahead of a tete-a-tete in Calgary this afternoon between Smith, Wilkinson and LeBlanc to discuss Bill C-50. Although the government is touting it as the “sustainable jobs” act, Smith told QR 770 it’s a euphemism for ‘just transition’.. Danielle SmithDanielle Smith speaks at the Global Energy Show in Calgary. .“We know what that language means,” she said..She said the meeting was not ostensibly about eliminating jobs, but rather, timelines to reduce emissions..“I hope we can keep it at that level,” she said..The meeting takes place at 2 p.m. MST.
