The Voice of Canada News
Reducing pollution from transportation is essential as Canada works to fight climate change, support healthy communities and invest in clean economic growth. The Government of Canada is encouraging the widespread adoption of electric vehicles by supporting innovative projects that provide more options to drive clean, including by making investments in electric, hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles.
Ms. Ruby Sahota, Member of Parliament for Brampton North joined MP Kamal Khera (Brampton West), MP Sonia Sidhu (Brampton South), MP Ramesh Sangha (Brampton Centre) and the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, to announce an investment of $11.1 million toward the Brampton portion of the CUTRIC Pan-Canadian Electric Bus Trial. This trial is the first of its kind and the largest global deployment of electric buses and high-powered, overhead, on-route chargers. The Federal Government is committed to investment like this that will help reduce pollution and energy costs, and pave the way for a zero-emission public transit sector.
Canada’s two leading bus manufacturers, New Flyer Industries and Nova Bus, will manufacture the battery electric buses, and Asea Brown Boveri (ABB) and Siemens will provide the on-route chargers, which will demonstrate the performance of the overhead electric bus charging system and enable future mass deployments. This investment will support innovative Canadian companies and good jobs in Canada’s cleantech sector, while fighting climate change.
“I first heard about CUTRIC and their electric bus trial in early 2016. I knew that because of Brampton’s population growth and increasing ridership, this project was necessary to decrease Brampton Transit’s reliance on diesel buses,” said MP Ruby Sahota. “I was disappointed to learn that when the Provincial Conservative Government canceled the Green Energy Act, they also cancelled funding to Brampton’s involvement in this trial. My Brampton colleagues stepped up and advocated to increase the federal investment in this trial and thus ensured that Brampton become an unquestioned world leader in e-mobility.”
