📬 Calgarians are flooding Alberta Government inboxes for pulling Green Line funding
Alberta MLA inboxes are overflowing with emails from Calgary citizens demanding the UCP government reverse their vindictive, politically motivated announcement to pull the plug on provincial funding for the Green Line LRT project, squandering billions of public dollars, vaporizing thousands of jobs through cancelled contracts and forcing yet further delays while rural MLAs who have never used public transit in their lives attempt to redraw the project.
🥊 MLA Ric McIver gets handed a smack down by a Calgary constituent over the politically motivated decision to pull funding for the Green Line
Calgary constituents are not letting MLA Ric McIver off the hook for his political interference in driving up costs of the Green Line.
Ric McIver's Calgary-Hays constituency office replied to one of the hundreds of constituent emails sent expressing concern over the Alberta Government's terrible decision to pull funding for the Green Line. Remarkably, Ric McIver who as former Transportation Minister personally delayed the Green Line project two years without finding any technical issues and forced inflationary cost increases to the project, seems all too eager to point fingers at others for his own political obstruction of the project.
Of course, Calgarians remember how under Ric McIver the Southwest Ring Road ballooned into an over built $2.2 billion boondoggle. Ric McIver's political career has been plagued by multiple fiscal train wrecks. In 2014, as part of the corrupt PC Government, he was caught attempting to cover up the infamous Sky Palace, a private residential penthouse suite for government members on top of the Federal Building. In 2017, McIver was found in conflict of interest for opposing electricity price caps while his wife owned an electricity retailer in the province.
Most recently, Ric McIver and the UCP Government helped spearhead a $1.2-billion public subsidy to build a new arena for the billionaire Flames owners.
👀 Read the emails for yourself!
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Hello,
I am writing in regards to the Calgary Greenline and the recent decision of the UCP to pull funding for the project.
This is a truly shocking and misguided decision. Not only had the UCP promised less than a month ago that these funds were committed to the project, to go ahead and pull funding for such a necessary project is such an ill conceived idea with huge ramifications for the city and province.
This project has been studied to death already and COUNTLESS reports have been created - many of these were at the request of the UCP and caused SIGNIFICANT delays and cost increases. The project was originally slated to begin in 2020 - and after delay after delay by the UCP it is no surprise that prices have skyrocketed. Even so, to delay any further will do nothing for Calgary (Alberta's economic hub) and only increase the cost and disruption to the city.
This project is ESSENTIAL for Calgary as it continues to grow - this was needed over a decade ago and significant city planning (including plans of developpers) have been completed based on the promise of the greenline. This will create THOUSANDS OF JOBS, and contribute to a reduction of personal car usage. This project will serve many of your constituents and improve their lives considerably.
The UCP should not have cut funding - in fact it should have been increased the funding so the original phase 1 could have proceeded so that the project could truly be a success. To say that this decision was based on budget is a LIE when we are going ahead with building an arena which only benefits the wealthy - notably the Arena project has had minimal delays since approved last year.
PLEASE fund the greenline for Calgary. To block or delay only shows contempt for Calgary, it's citizens and even YOUR OWN PROMISES.
From,
[CALGARY CONSTITUENT]
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Thank you for your email. We have serious concerns regarding the City of Calgary’s revised business case for the Green Line LRT project. This project has faced numerous challenges and changes over the years, and unfortunately, the revised alignment now serves fewer Calgarians, reducing ridership by 40%, while the total project cost has done nothing but increase. Originally planned to be 46 kilometres with 29 stations at a cost of $4.6 billion, the project has been progressively scaled back by the City of Calgary. The latest plan now covers just 10 kilometres with 7 stations at a significantly higher cost of $6.2 billion. Calgarians are getting less for much more, and the project continues to shrink rather than expand. Under the City’s current business plan, the cost per rider would be equal to nearly $190,000. As the provincial government, we are committed to ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used efficiently and effectively. To uphold this commitment, we will take a more proactive role in the Green Line project. We will engage an independent third party to propose alternative above-ground solutions that integrate the Red and Blue lines along 7th Ave, extend to the future Grand Central Station at the Arena Entertainment District, and continue to Shepard and beyond. We look forward to reviewing the new alignment proposal from this independent source before making any further decisions. It is crucial that we ensure every dollar spent is wisely invested. Thank you for your attention to this important matter. Warmest Regards, Kathy Constituency Assistant Hon. Ric McIver, MLA Calgary Hays |
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Hello,
Thank you for your prompt response - I like to think that this is a genuine reply from the Minister in regards to a provincial constituent's concerns, and not a canned response that was drafted in preparation for so many upset Albertans.
1- You state "the revised alignment now serves fewer Calgarians, reducing ridership by 40%" - so your justification is then to not build anything so that no one to be served? I am confused as to why the logic here wasn't to invest in the original line (prior to the cut) to maximize usage? How can the UCP be surprised at the scaled back line in the face of years long delays they caused?
2- You state "Originally planned to be 46 kilometres with 29 stations at a cost of $4.6 billion" I wonder when you are pulling this original number from? Was this before the delays that were caused by the UCP - insisting on report after report and consultation after consultation, even though it was clear that this line had been designed the most cost effectively possible while still maximising usage and serving Calgarians. How does delaying this line make it any cheaper?
3- You state "we are committed to ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used efficiently and effectively" This is a shocking falsehood. The UCP has shown considerable contempt and negligence of public funds, for example the Dyna LIfe "boondoggle" to use the UCPs term, which cost Albertans millions and for what? Further, millions of dollars have already been spent preparing for further construction of the line including preparing utilities, purchasing land and materials as well purchasing cars for the line. Despite all of this, any financial argument being made by the UCP is null and void in the face of the Arena deal and the UCP funded planning and construction. If finances are so tight - why are we not pausing the arena construction to use those funds for the Green Line and infrastructure development?
4- You state "We will engage an independent third party to propose alternative above-ground solutions" So how many consultations by the province does this make? What is the dollar amount that will now be wasted? How much longer will construction be delayed? How much higher will the cost rise while the UCP continues to delay this NECESSARY project which has been investigated to death and cannot wait.
Even if all of the above didn't matter - the biggest issue here is the inconsistency of the UCP. This party PROMISED the funds to the Green Line only a month ago - it was reported in the media that the funds were 100% committed even AFTER council came out with the scaled back phase 1. Instead of keeping their word, showing the world that this is a reliable place to do business and build a life, the UCP changed it's mind and has painted all of Alberta (and Albertans) to look like fools who can't complete a necessary project after YEARS, DECADES of planning. To see this proudly communicated by any politician is shocking and vile.
The Green Line MUST go forward - it has been well studied, planned and delayed too long. If the UCP feels that the revised plan was not price effective, then the solution isn't to delay further and drive costs higher! The right thing to do is SERVE Albertans, build something that will stimulate the economy AND be a generational product that will build good communities in to the future.
I am begging the UCP and the City of Calgary to figure this out and get this built according to the most recent schedule.To turn your backs on this project after so many promise is horrible.
Lastly, I refuse to call any of those addressed here today "the Government" because to be a government you must GOVERN. If the cutting of funding shows Alberta and the world anything, it's that there is no governance here (certainly no good governance) only lies, negligence and abandonment of Alberta (Canada's!!!) economic engine.
In spite of experience, I am still surprised,
[CALGARY CONSTITUENT]
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🚀 TAKE ACTION - Ask the UCP to reverse their decision to defund the Green Line
1) ✉️ Keep the emails coming!
Contact Minister of Municipal Affairs Ric McIver and Minister of Transportation Devin Dreeshen.
2) Show your support for the Green Line with a lawn sign
Show your support for the Green Line by displaying your Green Line lawn sign. You can also use our DIY toolkit to print your own signs and more.
Thank you for your support through action!
