DR. JOSIPA PETRUNIC, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF THE CANADIAN URBAN TRANSIT RESEARCH & INNOVATION CONSORTIUM (CUTRIC), RELEASED THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT CONGRATULATING THE NEWLY ELECTED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
The Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) is Canada’s leading non-profit responsible for developing and commercializing low-carbon transit.
CUTRIC congratulates the Liberal Party of Canada on the 44th Canadian federal election and another term in office. We look forward to working with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government and Members of Parliament across all parties to continue to deliver low-carbon and zero emissions transit to communities across the country.
This election provided Canadians with an opportunity to decide on how to finish the fight against COVID-19 and how to build back better from the pandemic to make Canada greener, more innovative, and more competitive. Clean public transit is at the heart of a clean economic recovery, a net-zero future, and better-connected communities from coast to coast to coast. We know that Canadians believe in the importance of tackling climate change. Investing in clean and smart transit technology will immediately help advance Canada’s objective of net-zero by 2050.
In September 2020, CUTRIC published the Five-Point Plan to Build Back Better Public Transit, outlining recommendations to advance cleaner public transit systems as part of COVID-19 economic recovery. We were proud to work with the federal government to achieve historic investments in clean transit to deliver on many recommendations from our plan, including a $3B Permanent Transit Fund, a $1.5B stream of the Canada Infrastructure Bank’s Growth Plan dedicated to zero-emissions buses, and a $2.75B Zero-Emissions Transit Fund. But we know that there is still work to be done to continue to position Canada as a global leader in clean transit innovation.
As the re-elected government prepares to take office and deliver on its electoral commitments, CUTRIC calls on the government to:
- Continue to invest in zero emissions transit funding programs, and enact enabling policies and regulations to support clean transit investment and deployment
- Continue to consult industry experts on effective program design and development
- Invest in the full scope of zero emissions transit infrastructure for effective deployment of systems, including charging infrastructure, depots, and clean fuel distribution
- Set ambitious targets for zero emissions transit deployment to drive outcomes, building on the previous commitment to achieve 5,000 zero emissions buses over five years
We urge the next federal government to build on previous commitments to zero emissions transit and continue to prioritize this as an area of federal investment to unlock the full economic, social, and environmental benefits that zero emissions transit can offer. CUTRIC and its members stand ready to support the new government in advancing innovative clean transit projects to reduce congestion and pollution in our cities, drive down emissions, spur innovation in clean technology, and create jobs and economic growth.
About CUTRIC
CUTRIC is a non-profit innovation consortium with a vision to make Canada a global leader in low-carbon smart mobility. Through industry-led collaborative research and large-scale technology integration trials, CUTRIC is working to achieve this goal by focusing on technology development, integration and standardization of low-carbon propulsion systems and smart vehicle systems, data-driven analytics in mobility, and cybersecurity in transportation.
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