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Nenshi, the former mayor of Calgary now wanting to lead the NDP back to the political Promised Land, says Green Line woes are the UCP’s fault
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The Green Line LRT is Naheed Nenshi’s baby.
The line now faces cost overruns but we don’t know by how much.
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The line does not go to the far north or the deep southeast of Calgary as originally planned.
It is being built in phases and there are already money problems.
Premier Danielle Smith has made it plain she is not kicking in more cash and suggests Green Line plans should change to fit the existing budget.
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A few days back, after jousting with other NDP leadership hopefuls in Calgary, Nenshi goes after Devin Dreeshen.
Dreeshen is Smith’s straight-talking point man on the Green Line. He wrote Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek telling her the province was tapped out.
No more dough from the province for Green Line LRT Phase 1 going from Shepard, south of Quarry Park, to Eau Claire in the downtown with some underground stations on the route.
Nenshi, the former mayor of Calgary now wanting to lead the NDP back to the political Promised Land, says Green Line woes are the UCP’s fault.
Nenshi says the province studied the Green Line “to the ends of the earth” when the NDP ran the show.
The UCP government under then-premier Jason Kenney studied it again and Nenshi says they delayed it by two years.
Finally, continues Nenshi, the UCP gave the green light to the Green Line plan.
This is where Nenshi unloads on Dreeshen. Classic Nenshi.
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At least he doesn’t call Dreeshen a monkey, a term he did use last week in referring to UCP members of the legislature.
“For Minister Dreeshen to now come out and go: I don’t know, man. Maybe it should be above ground. Maybe it should go to the tracks only.
“This is someone who has not been briefed, who has not read any of the documents. Very typical UCP. They’d rather pick a fight than get the job done.”
Nenshi is just getting up a head of steam.
“The cost overruns are entirely his department’s fault.
“Ultimately if they want to kill the Green Line, you know what, just kill it and let Calgarians know who you really are.”
What about the idea of going above ground not underground to save dollars?
“You’re going to cost billions and billions of dollars in changing everything plus waste all the money that’s already been spent on utility changes and so on. Sometimes you’ve got to just get the train on the tracks.”
Earlier this week, Calgary city council went behind closed doors to chinwag over the Green Line.
They stayed behind those closed doors a long time.
Nenshi figures any cost overruns should be covered one-third by the city taxpayer, one-third by the provincial taxpayer, one-third by the federal taxpayer.
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“Partners should be partners and split it,” he says.
“Really, the city does in fact have some cash flow and can probably debt finance it. But that’s just debt that will be paid in property taxes by the same taxpayers who are paying taxes to the province anyway.”
Again Nenshi has a message for Smith, Dreeshen and company.
“Man up and go: It’s our fault these cost escalations happened. We’re going to take some responsibility. Let’s share the cost.”
Unless Hell freezing over is in the weather forecast the province is firm. No.
Dreeshen says Nenshi is trying to deflect blame since he owned the project as mayor and “he wasn’t able to build a single kilometre of track or a single train station.”
Dreeshen actually calls current Green Line problems “Nenshi’s mess.”
“This is a pattern for Nenshi where he fails miserably and then blames everyone else. It’s time he takes some responsibility.
“It’s ironic this is the guy who wants to be premier of Alberta.”
Nenshi says in today’s world, with Smith not allowing cities to cut side deals with Ottawa, the Green Line would not have existed.
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Yes, the Green Line was born out of politics.
The Nenshi-led city council took a $52-million yearly tax break from the province intended for Calgarians and put it toward the Green Line.
Thirty years of that $52-million tax break intended for Calgarians.
The federal Conservative government of the day matched the dollar amount. Then the NDP provincial government matched it.
Crazy as it seems people thought those dollars would pay for the entire line. It doesn’t even pay for the first phase.
Meanwhile, big business brains say following a meeting between the UCP government and Green Line movers and shakers Smith confirmed her understanding was Green Line Phase 1 costs would reach $10 billion while experts expect the entire Green Line north to south will cost more than $20 billion.
No wonder Dreeshen sent the letter to Gondek saying the province wouldn’t be stepping on that cost escalator.
Yet another city hall story that could get very ugly.
rbell@postmedia.com
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