Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi says the government withholding funds from Calgary’s Green Line LRT is outrageous. While Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen has proposed changes to the Green Line, Nenshi said all of them have been studied. “None of them work,” said Nenshi in a Wednesday video. “The Green Line has been studied to death.”.Dreeshen said on Tuesday Calgary’s Green Line LRT “is fast becoming a multibillion dollar boondoggle that will serve very few Calgarians.” READ MORE: Dreeshen says Alberta government to halt funding to Calgary’s Green Line LRTIn response, Dreeshen said the Alberta government is unable to support or provide funding for the revised Green Line Stage One scope as outlined in the City of Calgary’s most recent business case. “To be clear, we recognize your and the current council’s efforts to try to salvage the untenable position you’ve been placed in by the former mayor and his utter failure to completely oversee the planning, design, and implementation of a cost-effective transit plan that have could have served hundreds of thousands of Calgarians in the City’s southern and northern communities,” he said..Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said on Wednesday the City of Calgary can no longer afford the cost of the Green Line because of the scope change demanded from the Alberta government.READ MORE: Gondek says Calgary now can't afford Green Line amid Alberta government’s scope changeHowever, Gondek said the City of Calgary has been fiscally responsible with the Green Line. “We have tried to deliver it within the budget we had before us with our other two funding partners,” said Gondek. Reviews into the Green Line have been conducted — many of them commissioned by the Alberta government. The reviews indicated it was the right alignment and spending, what creates jobs, what boosts the economy, and what helps people. On August 1, the Alberta government said it was behind the Green Line as it stood. Nenshi asked why did it change its opinion. He said Dreeshen “has basically fired 1,000 people and said we don’t care about 20,000 jobs.” Additionally, he accused him of not caring about the economic impact. Although the Alberta government has called for less federal interference, Nenshi said Dreeshen is saying he does not care it is giving $1.5 billion back to the Canadian government because it does not want it to spend money on it. He added what it needs now is an intelligent, rational, and pragmatic government. Nenshi concluded by saying Alberta needs a government “that wants to get things done for Calgarians rather than pick fights with city council and me.” He said it has that alternative. “That’s Alberta’s New Democrats,” he said. Calgary city council approved a revised Green Line Phase One project scope, capital funding request, and delivery model as recommended by the Green Line Board in July. READ MORE: SHORTER & COSTLIER: Calgary Green Line LRT moves ahead with $6.2 billion smaller lineTo respond to rising costs and potential future escalations and maximize the Green Line’s benefits, the City of Calgary said the Green Line Board’s recommendations were based on work done to reduce costs and contractor negotiations during the Development Phase. “Today's decision is more than a decade in the making and sets Calgary up for success for years to come, especially at a time when we are the fastest growing city in the nation,” said Gondek.
Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi says the government withholding funds from Calgary’s Green Line LRT is outrageous. While Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors Minister Devin Dreeshen has proposed changes to the Green Line, Nenshi said all of them have been studied. “None of them work,” said Nenshi in a Wednesday video. “The Green Line has been studied to death.”.Dreeshen said on Tuesday Calgary’s Green Line LRT “is fast becoming a multibillion dollar boondoggle that will serve very few Calgarians.” READ MORE: Dreeshen says Alberta government to halt funding to Calgary’s Green Line LRTIn response, Dreeshen said the Alberta government is unable to support or provide funding for the revised Green Line Stage One scope as outlined in the City of Calgary’s most recent business case. “To be clear, we recognize your and the current council’s efforts to try to salvage the untenable position you’ve been placed in by the former mayor and his utter failure to completely oversee the planning, design, and implementation of a cost-effective transit plan that have could have served hundreds of thousands of Calgarians in the City’s southern and northern communities,” he said..Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek said on Wednesday the City of Calgary can no longer afford the cost of the Green Line because of the scope change demanded from the Alberta government.READ MORE: Gondek says Calgary now can't afford Green Line amid Alberta government’s scope changeHowever, Gondek said the City of Calgary has been fiscally responsible with the Green Line. “We have tried to deliver it within the budget we had before us with our other two funding partners,” said Gondek. Reviews into the Green Line have been conducted — many of them commissioned by the Alberta government. The reviews indicated it was the right alignment and spending, what creates jobs, what boosts the economy, and what helps people. On August 1, the Alberta government said it was behind the Green Line as it stood. Nenshi asked why did it change its opinion. He said Dreeshen “has basically fired 1,000 people and said we don’t care about 20,000 jobs.” Additionally, he accused him of not caring about the economic impact. Although the Alberta government has called for less federal interference, Nenshi said Dreeshen is saying he does not care it is giving $1.5 billion back to the Canadian government because it does not want it to spend money on it. He added what it needs now is an intelligent, rational, and pragmatic government. Nenshi concluded by saying Alberta needs a government “that wants to get things done for Calgarians rather than pick fights with city council and me.” He said it has that alternative. “That’s Alberta’s New Democrats,” he said. Calgary city council approved a revised Green Line Phase One project scope, capital funding request, and delivery model as recommended by the Green Line Board in July. READ MORE: SHORTER & COSTLIER: Calgary Green Line LRT moves ahead with $6.2 billion smaller lineTo respond to rising costs and potential future escalations and maximize the Green Line’s benefits, the City of Calgary said the Green Line Board’s recommendations were based on work done to reduce costs and contractor negotiations during the Development Phase. “Today's decision is more than a decade in the making and sets Calgary up for success for years to come, especially at a time when we are the fastest growing city in the nation,” said Gondek.
