The Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) is Canada’s leading non-profit responsible for the development and commercialization of low-carbon transit.

CUTRIC welcomes the Government of Canada’s Budget 2022, focused on green economic growth and making life more affordable for Canadians. Budget 2022 furthers the federal government’s commitment under their newly released Emissions Reduction Plan. The new Canada Growth Fund will encourage new private investment in net-zero climate goals. These commitments will help Canada, which has the highest emissions of the G7 countries, lower its per-capita greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The federal government also proposed on March 25, 2022, to support transit agencies recover from the impact on ridership and revenues due to the pandemic. The proposed funding of $750 million will help public transit and governments build safe and diverse transit options to collectively reduce congestion, improve air quality, and ensure that we can meet our ambitious emissions targets together as a country.

Budget 2022 announces that the Department of Finance Canada will engage with experts to establish an investment tax credit of up to 30 per cent, focused on net-zero technologies, battery storage solutions, and clean hydrogen. CUTRIC and its members welcome the opportunity to work with the federal government to establish credit incentives that will help public transit and Canadians meet their zero-emission goals.

The budget also announces a broadened role for the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) to invest in private sector-led infrastructure projects that will accelerate Canada’s transition to a low-carbon economy. Investment in clean fuel production, distribution and storage for fuels like hydrogen will help transit agencies move quickly towards adding hydrogen fuel cell electric buses to their transit fleets — a vital step if the Government of Canada wants to achieve its goal of 5,000 zero-emission buses over five years.

CUTRIC recognizes that the Clean Canada Growth Fund, initiatives to build a Network of EV Charging Stations, new tax credits and increasing the CIB’s mandate will have positive outcomes on all Canadians in our push towards clean, fast and efficient public transit. “Canada is well-positioned to seize the opportunity of hydrogen, and the federal government must build on the existing momentum to put Canada on a faster path to unlocking the full potential of hydrogen in a net-zero economy. Transportation is responsible for more than 25 per cent of Canada’s greenhouse gas emissions and public transit is the gateway to reducing pollution from the heavy-duty transportation sector. The time is now,” says Josipa Petrunic, President & CEO of CUTRIC.

About CUTRIC
CUTRIC is a non-profit innovation consortium with a vision to make Canada a global leader in low-carbon smart mobility. Through industry-led collaborative research and large-scale technology integration trials, CUTRIC is working to achieve this goal by focusing on technology development, integration and standardization of low-carbon propulsion systems and smart vehicle systems, data-driven analytics in mobility, and cybersecurity in transportation.

Media contact:
Grace Reilly
514-244-3244
grace.reilly@old.cutric-crituc.org