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braid: jason kenney takes on nenshi over green line charges, saying 'he makes stuff up'
despite his vow of political silence, jason kenney is glad to rebut naheed nenshi's claims
jul 31 2024
3 minute read
then-mayor naheed nenshi and then-mp jason kenney discuss a possible new lrt line during a media opportunity at rotary park in calgary on friday, july 24, 2015.
lyle aspinall/postmedia
former ucp premier jason kenney hasn’t said a public word about alberta politics since he left office in 2022.
but ndp leader naheed nenshi hit his talk button wednesday with charges that kenney is responsible for green line cost overruns.
“nonsense,” kenney said in an interview. he added that the allegations stem from nenshi’s “very florid imagination.”
“this is a broader problem naheed has. he just makes stuff up. i think people call it gaslighting.”
kenney is busy these days as a consultant and member of several boards. he has an office with the storied law firm bennett jones.
despite his vow of political silence, he’s glad to rebut nenshi’s claim that as federal conservative minister for alberta, he suddenly offered green line funding out of the blue because the 2015 federal election was coming.
nenshi also blamed kenney for what he called a two-year pause on the project in 2020, when kenney was ucp premier. this led to the big cost overruns, claims the former calgary mayor.
kenney was furious about both allegations.
he says there was nothing sudden or political about the $1.5 billion in federal funding announced in calgary on june 24, 2015.
he had been approached by councillors months before, kenney recalls. there was funding in the federal budget and the green line was already up for consideration in the federal infrastructure department.
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“i was pretty excited about it. i thought this was a project that in principle deserved support, so we got the ball rolling and announced it.”
as for nenshi’s allegation that the announcement was keyed to the election, kenney says again, “well, nonsense. i have never believed that people vote on the basis of infrastructure projects. that’s not my approach to politics — it never was.
“normally, the criticism from municipal politicians is that the federal government moves too slowly in making these commitments. this is the first time i’ve been criticized for moving too quickly.”
after the announcement in 2015, kenney says, “the city spent years and years on this, only to come back with a more expensive project that is 50 per cent smaller, serving half as many people.
“fast forward, i become premier in the spring of 2019, four years later, and no shovel has been put in the ground.
“we’re now nine years after that original announcement and not one inch closer to lrt service.
“naheed can try to pass the buck, but he was responsible and the city administration were the managers of this project.
“he can try to blame me for bringing $1.5 billion federal dollars and then $1.5 billion provincial dollars. that’s the definition of ingratitude, i think.
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“at the end of the day, the city was and is responsible for this thing. calgarians can make their own judgment about how that’s going.
“sadly, and perhaps predictably, the line continues to shrink at a higher cost. taxpayers have a right to be upset about that.”
kenney says nenshi’s claim that the province brought in a two-year freeze in 2020 is ridiculous.
“city council did not make a decision on whether to proceed with the green line until june 2020, 15 months after i became premier, and five years after the initial funding announcement.
“the provincial government then took three months — not two years — to do some due diligence by consulting experts on the viability and risks associated with the city’s dramatically rescoped project.
“minister (ric) mciver then reconfirmed provincial funding in october 2020, with certain conditions to ensure cost controls.
“so, we took three months to do due diligence after the size of the line was cut in half. in naheed’s very florid imagination, he’s extended that to two years of delay.
“naheed also says, in his interview with you, that the reason for this two-year, non-existent delay by the province under my premiership is because i met some guy who thought he could do it more cheaply.
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“i have no idea what he’s talking about.”
signage for the planned green line shepard lrt station and maintenance depot is seen on 48th street s.e., near 126 avenue, in calgary on wednesday, july 31, 2024. the site would have been the southeast terminus of the green line lrt before plans were drastically cut in a july 30 city council meeting to limit the initial buildout between eau claire and lynnwood/millican stations.
brent calver/postmedia
finally, kenney denies nenshi’s implication that in 2015 he called the mayor urgently to plead for a number to announce.
“in fact,” kenney says, “he’s recounted the story to me several times, and in each recounting he says he got a call from the infrastructure department, not me.
“so he’s definitely gilding the lily on that one.”
a further truncated version of the green line lrt project is now approved at $6.3 billion . there’s instant controversy over loss of a beltline station. despite some blustery threats, the province has not withdrawn its funding of $1.53 billion.
senior governments have been very patient with this deeply troubled project. it may not last.
don braid’s column appears regularly in the herald
x: @donbraid
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