No. GC 001/07
For release February 13, 2007

GOVERNMENT OF CANADA TEAMS UP WITH
CITIES TO HELP CANADIANS LEAVE THEIR
CARS AT HOME

MONTREAL - Canada's New Government today announced an initiative to help Canadians better protect their health and environment by giving them more transportation choices. The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and the Honourable John Baird, Minister of the Environment, today announced that Canada's New Government will invest up to $10 million over four years in the ecoMOBILITY program.

"We are committed to working with the provinces, territories, and municipalities to improve transportation and access to and from urban areas," said Minister Cannon. "Today's announcement demonstrates our government's commitment to work with cities to invest in ways to protect the health of Canadians and the environment. The ecoMOBILITY program will help Canadians make more environmentally friendly transportation choices."

With up to $10 million in available funding, the ecoMOBILITY program will help reduce urban passenger transportation emissions by encouraging increased transit ridership and the use of other sustainable transportation options.

"Transportation is one of the largest sources of air pollution and greenhouse gases in Canada," said Minister Baird. "Canada's New Government is taking action to deliver real reductions in air pollutants, greenhouse gas emissions and harmful substances in our communities."

The ecoMOBILITY initiative will help cities develop policies, programs, and services that encourage people to leave their cars at home and choose more environmentally friendly options, such as the bus or car-pooling. Through support for collaborative research, development of professional resources, implementation of cost-shared pilot projects and dissemination of information, the program will lead to increased environmental benefits from new transit infrastructure investments.

In addition, in Budget 2006, Canada's New Government committed to maintain the transfer of $5 billion in gas tax funds over five years to Canadian municipalities to support environmentally sustainable municipal infrastructure, specifically for water treatment, wastewater, local road systems and public transit infrastructure. Over the next five years, Canada's New Government will provide $1.34 billion in gas tax and public transit funding to Quebec, to which the province will add $475.7 million, for a total of over $1.8 billion. Including contributions from municipalities, $2.3 billion will go toward renewing municipal infrastructure. The funds will be administered by the Société de financement des infrastructures locales du Québec (SOFIL). The City of Montreal received today its first payment of $46 million, which is part of close to $254 million in gas tax payments.

These initiatives support the Government of Canada's ecoTRANSPORT Strategy, which is aimed at improving the health of Canadians and the environment by reducing the environmental impacts of transportation; securing Canada's future prosperity and competitiveness by making critical transportation infrastructure sustainable both economically and environmentally; and promoting an efficient transportation system that supports choice and the high quality of life that Canadians expect.

Prime Minister Harper recently announced the Canada ecoTrust for Clean Air and Climate Change, which will be designed to provide financial support to provincial and territorial projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants. The resources for this initiative will consist of $1.5 billion of new funding on a national basis. As part of this new Canada ecoTrust, Canada's New Government intends to provide Quebec with $349.9 million in funding as recognition of its leadership to protect Canadians from the consequences of climate change.

This new funding will be contained in the upcoming 2006-07 budget and is a part of the actions to be taken on the fiscal imbalance. It will be available as soon as Parliament approves the budget.

A backgrounder and a fact sheet on the ecoMOBILITY program are attached.

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Backgrounder

ECOMOBILITY — HELPING CANADIANS MAKE THE RIGHT TRANSPORTATION
CHOICES FOR A CLEAN, HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT

Every day, Canadians commute to work, to school and to other destinations. While commuting is a necessity for most, it also increases the greenhouse gases and air pollution that affect our environment and the health of all Canadians.

As part of its environmental agenda, the Government of Canada is helping reduce emissions by working with cities to help Canadians make cleaner transportation choices part of their daily commute.

The Government of Canada's new ecoMOBILITY program seeks to cut urban-passenger transportation emissions by encouraging commuters to choose public transit or other sustainable transportation options like car-pooling. Working with cities and municipalities across Canada, this initiative will help develop programs, services and products to improve transportation choices and quality of life for Canadians in urban areas across the country.

The ecoMOBILITY program builds on the major infrastructure investments that the Government of Canada announced in the 2006 federal budget, and other measures, such as regulating the fuel consumption of new vehicles sold in Canada, announced in the fall. These measures are part of the Government of Canada's ambitious and realistic agenda to protect the health of Canadians and the environment in Canada. They also demonstrate that Canada's New Government understands the importance of addressing climate change.

Want to know more about the Government of Canada's environmental agenda and the ecoMOBILITY program? Visit us online at www.tc.gc.ca/ecoTRANSPORT.

February 2007

FACT SHEET

ECOMOBILITY

Every day, Canadians commute to work, to school and other destinations. While commuting is a necessity for most, it also increases the greenhouse gases and air pollution that affect our environment and the health of all Canadians.

As part of its environmental agenda, Canada's New Government is helping reduce emissions by working with cities and regional authorities to help Canadians make cleaner transportation choices part of their daily commute.

Working with cities and municipalities across Canada, this initiative will improve transportation choices and quality of life for Canadians in urban areas across the country.

While respecting provincial and territorial jurisdictions and planning priorities, the government is committed to finding ways to work together more effectively to improve transportation and mobility for Canadians in urban areas.

With up to $10 million in available funding, the ecoMOBILITY program will help reduce urban passenger transportation emissions by encouraging increased transit ridership and the use of other sustainable transportation options.

Examples of the measures that the ecoMOBILITY program will encourage include:

• policies such as land use guidelines that complement increased use of sustainable transportation options (e.g. development approval policies that mandate access to transit services);
• programs to raise awareness and motivate changes in personal travel choices (e.g. workplace-based commuter options programs that engage staff and market new incentives to reduce single occupancy vehicle trips to and from work);
• services that offer individuals a tangible benefit or disbenefit related to the use of particular travel modes (e.g. guaranteed-ride home programs for car-pool members or reduced parking rates for car-pool vehicles); and
• products that make sustainable transportation more convenient (e.g. enhanced transit information services or online ridematching systems for workplaces).

Transportation is a key element of the government's environmental agenda. Keeping people and goods moving is vital to a healthy economy and is critical to Canada's prosperity. A more sustainable transportation system will result in safety, social and economic benefits for all Canadians.

For more information about the Government of Canada's environmental agenda and the ecoMOBILITY program, go to www.tc.gc.ca/ecoTRANSPORT.

February 2007