Good afternoon, everyone, and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today.
My name is Amarjeet Sohi and I am the mayor of the city of Edmonton, Alberta.
Like many major cities in Canada, Edmonton is growing quickly and we are feeling the effects of the climate change crisis. It is our responsibility to work together towards solutions and to create action plans accordingly. This is why I am very excited to see the introduction of this bill, Bill C-235, by the Honourable Jim Carr.
The City of Edmonton supports the approach of local co-operation and engagement outlined in the bill and looks forward to being an active participant in the development of the framework. Municipalities are not specifically mentioned in clause 2, but we should be at the table as partners in this work.
The prairie region is very vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Over the last 20 years, the insured costs of climate hazards in Alberta have been increasing. Since the 1990s, Alberta has experienced six out of the 10 biggest climate hazard insured losses in Canada.
The prairie region is warming at the fastest rate in Canada, outside of the Arctic region. This brings a high risk of flooding, a high risk of drought, and a high frequency of extreme heat events. Prairie cities will need to become more climate- and energy-resilient and we need to collaborate with all sectors and all orders of government to transition together. This transition will be a huge driver for job creation and economic growth.
The framework developed through the implementation of Bill C-235 will help prairie cities to proactively plan, collaborate and advance on employment and economic priorities that are intended to mitigate and minimize disruption from climate change. This work is happening at both the local and regional levels, and there are many opportunities, such as regional public transit programs, that can be built into this work.
I will give you a few examples of how the proposed federal framework aligns with Edmonton's strategic plans, and what we have already accomplished.
Edmonton's economic action plan sets the path of creating more jobs and more businesses, and it is purposefully designed to steer us towards opportunities in the green economy.
Edmonton's community energy transition strategy and action plan facilitates the growth of local green economic sectors, including renewable energy, green transit and construction, carbon capture and storage, and smart technology.
Since 2015, this strategy has already led to the city of Edmonton being on target to have 100% renewable electricity for its civic operations in the next few years; deployment of 60 electric buses, piloting of two hydrogen buses, and plans to deploy several hundred low-emission buses in the next decade; and development of district energy systems downtown and in the Blatchford community.
Collaboration with partners like the FCM and the Province of Alberta has resulted in Edmonton being the first large city in Alberta to have initiated a clean energy improvement program. Currently, three other Alberta municipalities have initiated their own CEIP, and 19 Alberta municipalities have passed clean energy improvement bylaws in preparation to start their programs.
As you can see, Edmonton and many prairie cities want to transition to a green economy. We are ready for this, and we need your help to be successful.
Another example is the role of partnerships and the great work being carried out due to the federal government's climate innovation fund, which has supported essential capacity building to better prepare Edmonton's real estate, building and construction industries to transition to a green economy.
The last city plan I want to highlight, which aligns with the proposed framework, is “Climate Resilient Edmonton: Adaptation Strategy and Action Plan”, which was approved in 2020 and is Edmonton's approach to adapting to the impacts of a changing climate.
One of the first priorities being undertaken is the development and implementation of our flood mitigation plan, a $1.6-billion investment plan that includes a combination of homeowner program, drainage systems improvements, green infrastructure and smarter stormwater networks that will allow Edmonton to anticipate and react to storms in real time.
Alberta will be home to some of the largest net-zero petrochemical manufacturing facilities in the world because of our provincial carbon offset framework, along with geological conditions that optimize for carbon capture and sequestration. One of the world's first net-zero hydrogen facilities will be located here in Edmonton by 2024.
I would be remiss not to advocate for policies that recognize decarbonization opportunities that align with the strengths of my region's economy. Becoming a carbon capture and hydrogen leader in the Prairies is not a given, specifically due to recent incentives of the Inflation Reduction Act that are creating more favourable conditions for those projects to be in the U.S. Canada can do more to increase the competitiveness of our hydrogen sector while increasing sustainable economic growth.
Prairie cities like Edmonton are ready to partner with anyone who will help us to build a new, inclusive economy. We're willing partners committed to being at the table, ready to work together. We will be involved in several different federal ministries, and the framework will allow us that singular focus and a point of access that will build efficiencies and allow us to address these challenges faster.
Thank you so much for the opportunity.