'Crushed by a government only interested in power': Mayor blasts province on Green Line halt

In a scathing thread posted to social media, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek skewered the province over its decision to pull its portion of the funding for the Green Line LRT, calling it "political stunting."

"Neither the minister nor the premier have any interest in working with partners," Gondek said in a 13 post thread on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday morning.

"They want control and they have exerted their power to kill a project that had independent third party oversight of the Green Line Board. For their new LRT project, oversight is all political." 

Her comments come as Calgary city council is expected to learn more about the costs of winding down the Green Line LRT on Tuesday, and Calgarians rally in front of city hall in support of the multi-billion-dollar transit project.

Speaking to reporters Monday afternoon, Gondek said she is planning to meet as early as today with Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Sean Fraser to discuss the next steps.

The mayor said she anticipates the federal government will issue a letter, presumably addressed to the province, that will look at the state of the Green Line LRT.

She said it's been "a journey" over the past couple of weeks trying to figure out why the provincial government made the choice to walk back funding.

Gondek said on social media the province is ignoring the facts surrounding the Green Line and accused Minister of Transportation and Economic Corridors Devin Dreeshen of "killing" the project.

"A critical public transit investment has been crushed by a government only interested in power and political stunting," she said. 

"It's shameful. We exist in a time when we have no hope of partnership and trust. Instead, we are left to watch as the UCP compromises Calgary's future."

A spokesperson for Dreeshen told CBC News he was not available for an interview but provided a statement in response to Gondek's remarks.

Dreeshen's office said the province wants to ensure Calgarians get the best value for their $1.53 billion investment in the Green Line, and took issue with how far the proposed line would extend, among other concerns.

"In addition to shrinking the proposed Green Line from the 46 kilometres and 29 stations Calgarians were originally promised almost 10 years ago, down to just 10 kilometres and seven stations — the city's new alignment would also reduce ridership by 40 per cent, while bringing the total costs up to over $6.2 billion," it read.

"This would make the Green Line one of the most expensive, and least effective LRT projects in North America," the statement reads."

The minister's office goes on to reiterate the provincial government is getting a third party to create alternative proposals for an above-ground alignment of the transit project. 

"These proposals are expected to connect to the existing red and blue lines, the future Grand Central Station at the new arena entertainment district, and extend to communities such as Shepard, Seton, and the South Health Campus."

Dreeshen's office said it will continue to collaborate with Calgary and federal officials to ensure an orderly transition from an "expensive and high-risk project with extensive tunneling to a new and longer above ground alignment that will benefit many more Calgarians."

Premier Danielle Smith also said Saturday on her weekly radio show that the Green Line in its current form is not viable, too expensive and wouldn't serve enough people in the city.

"We wanted to see if there's a better way to do it that will actually get the line far enough out to where the people actually live. So, I hope Calgarians understand, we want to see this built properly, too," Smith said.

CBC News has reached out to Smith's office for comment on Gondek's remarks.

Smith noted that because of the many delays the Green Line has faced over the years, the cost has become extraordinary.

"At some point, someone had to say, 'this is not a viable project the way it's being proposed.' It was a 46-kilometre route that was initially proposed for about $4.5 billion. Now it's a little stub of a line, nine kilometres, that goes from nowhere to nowhere," she said.

"And I have to ask Calgarians, is that what you signed up for? Are you prepared to spend that amount of money on a single project because of the over-engineering that's required downtown? We don't think so, and so we think we can find a better way to do it."

Mike Mahar, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 583, told Calgary Eyeopener host Loren McGinnis Monday morning that the idea the proposed design of the LRT is "going nowhere" is confusing, and too much money has gone into the project to change gears now.

"Who could possibly, kibosh this level of construction that's already happened? Whether it's politically motivated or not, I think the fallout would be everlasting, quite frankly, if something isn't done," Mahar said. 

"I mean, three months ago, this was money in the bank. It was guaranteed, 100 per cent, secured funding, and nothing's changed but the political will of, quite frankly, the province."

Neil McKendrick, the former city transit manager and member of the ad hoc committee, Rethink the Green Line, told CBC News he's happy the province is stepping in to re-evaluate the LRT project.

"We don't think the city is taking a critical look at this project as they should," he said, adding the cost to taxpayers is too high for the scale of the transit expansion project.

Asked about whether the province's choice to pull its portion of the funding will end up increasing the overall costs of the project, McKendrick said it's preferable to letting the current plan go ahead as it is.

"Ask yourself what's better, to have a project that's justified, that costs a little bit more and you know you're spending the money the right way? Or is it better to scrap the project altogether and save yourself a huge cost?"

Bill Black, president and CEO of the Calgary Construction Association, told CBC News a staggering amount of jobs hang in the balance over the fate of Green Line. 

He says thousands of industry jobs could be lost if the project is scrapped.

"It's very hard to say for sure, lots of numbers have been thrown out there. But, if you look at the duration of the project and depending on whether there are tunnels or whether it's all overground, it could be as much as 4,000 or 5,000 jobs across the board," he said.