ABSTRACT

The records received through the FOIP (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy) request clearly revealed that this project was primarily driven by the Town’s Administration (with the leads being Mr. Devin LaFleche, (He/Him), Community Connectivity Advisor, until his leaving the town in September 2022 to take up a position with Rocky View County, and subsequently, Mr. Mitchell Hamm, Director, Community Services). Although the project received the mayor’s blessing in the June 1, 2023 press release for the project, there is no record of the project having formally been approved by the Town Council at a public Town Council meeting. However, the absence of a response to a question (“I would like to hear from each Council member individually, if or not they are “excited” by this project?”) raised in a June 9, 2023 email to Town Council, suggests that they are likewise “excited” about the project, or they are too cowardly to say otherwise.

While the project may be looked upon as a ‘feasibility’ study, it most likely is the first step to replace Cochrane’s bus fleet with electric buses, or more correctly, battery-powered buses. There is extensive evidence to support such a conclusion,

Bottom line: Do we want our town to be marching to the tune of Justin Trudeau and the WEF?

FULL BLOG

As reported in an earlier blog post, “Cochrane Mayor Genung “Excited” About Advancing the Goals of Trudeau and the U.N.”, on June 9, 2023,I wrote an email to the members of Town Council, wherein I asked the following questions with respect to the announced Town of Cochrane/Government of Canada joint study to plan for the electrification of Cochrane’s transit fleet:

1. When the mayor says that “the town of Cochrane is quite excited” about this project, I am not clear as what is meant by “the town of Cochrane”. Who authorized this study? The Administration? The Mayor? The Town Council? If the latter, can you please refer me to the Town council meeting where this was discussed and presumably approved by Town Council?
2. I would like to hear from each Council member individually, if or not they are “excited” by this project?
3. I understand that in this case the Town of Cochrane will bare 20% of the cost of this study, or $20,760. I don’t believe that such an allocation of taxpayer dollars was part of the recent approved budget, so where is it coming from?

After more than a month of not receiving a reply to my questions from the Mayor and Council, which I have experienced as characteristic disrespectful behavior by our Town Council, on July 14, 2023 I made a FOIP (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy) request to the Town for:
“All records related to a joint investment of $103,800 by the Town of Cochrane and the Government of Canada to plan for the electrification of Cochrane’s transit fleet with the intent to determine who in the Town authorized this joint project and where in Cochrane’s budget the $20,760 contribution by the Town came from” for the period from January 1, 2021 to the time of making the FOIP request.

While the town is typically allowed 30 days to fulfill the request, on August 14, 2023, I received a notification from the Town that an additional 30 days would be required citing as justification for such an extension, Section 14(1)(c) of the FOIP Act which states, “more time is needed to consult with a third party or another public body before deciding whether to grant access to a record”, where the third part in question was presumed to be the consulting company carrying out the project, the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC). I protested the extension, but to no avail (see August 15 and 23, 2023 updates in “Cochrane Mayor Genung “Excited” About Advancing the Goals of Trudeau and the U.N.”). The town’s records office waited exactly until the 30-days time-extension had expired before releasing the FOIP 2023-0034 Transit Fleet Electrification report.

338 pages were retrieved through the records search. A covering letter from the town’s Record Office answered my third question above that was sent to the Town Council, namely, that the project was funded “from the Transit Operational Budget:31-00”. Later on in the records search, Cochrane’s contribution of 20% ($20,760) to the $103,800 study was identified as being funded from the “Connectivity Operating Budget”. An earlier blog post explained the meaning of the code word, “connectivity”, used by the town, namely, the promotion of all forms of transportation apart from gas and diesel-fueled vehicles. That would be in line with the commitment as per the Calgary Metropolitan Regional Board’s (CMRB’s) Growth Plan to bring about a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions by reducing vehicle kilometres per household by 33% (as per slide #9, below) from the slide deck for Presentation: Cochrane’s Road to Agenda 2030).

The retrieved records were scoured to answer Question #1 above, namely, “who authorized the study”, who pushed it along?

Disappointingly, much of the information was hidden away by redactions presumed to have been requested by a third party, namely, the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), the support organization selected by Infrastructure Canada to conduct planning activities.

Headers to pages containing redacted (blotted out) material included a reference in red to a section, 16.1 of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIP) Act related to Exceptions to Disclosure – Disclosure harmful to business interests of a third party, which appeared as:
16(1) The head of a public body must refuse to disclose to an applicant information (a) that would reveal (i) trade secrets of a third party, or (ii) commercial, financial, labour relations, scientific or technical information of a third party (b) that is supplied, explicitly or implicitly, in confidence, and (i) harm significantly the competitive position or interfere significantly with the negotiation position of the third party.

The redactions, blotting out of text, started with the very first entry of the retrieved documents, an email, “Council Brief: ZETF Funding Announcement”, from Mitchell Hamm, Director, Community Services, on May 25, 2023, informing Council of a joint project between the Town of Cochrane and the Zero Emission Transit Fund (ZETF), an arm of Infrastructure Canada (INFC). The objective of the $2.75 billion Zero Emission Transit Fund (ZETF) is “to advance the Government of Canada’s commitment to help procure zero emission public transit and school buses”.

Hamm informed Council that “In 2022, ZETF approached Cochrane to participate in this study, which is being led by the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) and involves several small, mid, and large-sized communities across Canada”.

A statement by Mr. Hamm, “The study is specifically tailored to address our community’s unique needs and will cover various aspects, such as” was followed by eight blocked-out bullet points. It is questionable that a communication between Mr. Hamm and the Council, having no involvement of the third party, identifying how the study “specifically tailored to address our community’s unique needs” would be hidden from the community by the Town’s Record Office.

Council was advised that the study officially commenced in December 2022 with the final report anticipated to be received in November 2023. Cochrane’s contribution of 20% ($20,760) to the $103,800 study was identified as being funded from the “Connectivity Operating Budget”.

While pointing out that “there is no obligation to act on the outcomes of the study, Hamm also noted that “Cochrane’s participation in the study will grant access to Federal funding opportunities that are limited to participants of the study”. That goes along with CUTRIC’s President and CEO, Josipa Petrunić, telling the Cochrane Eagle that “right now, there’s a lot of money at the federal level to buy electric buses”, referring to a Stage II Capital Stream (see below).

Noteworthy that although the study commenced in December 2022 it was not first publicly announced until June 1, 2023 and Council apparently was only advised of it a week earlier. However, a communication from a member of the CUTRIC team in January 2023 there was mention of a “early council presentation” and that “an anonymous progress meeting” could be provided.

From the retrieved records, it appears that the Town’s Administration was responsible for initiating this project with the prime mover being Devin LaFleche, who throughout 2021 identified himself as holding the position of “Sustainability and Transit Coordinator” for the Town of Cochrane. At some point in 2022 there was a change in his job title to “Community Connectivity Advisor”.  Given that he would promote such a project fits the reference to “Sustainability” in his job title, as such a project would fit the sustainable development goals of the UN’s Agenda 2030, thereby supporting Justin Trudeau’s policy to decarbonize public transit as part of his ideological Net Carbon Zero policy aligned with the globalist UN/WEF’s Agenda 2030.

With respect to the new title, Community Connectivity Advisor, remember that the code word “connectivity” deployed by the Town, as described above, is used by the town to mean the promotion of all forms of transportation apart from gas and diesel-fueled vehicles in accord with the Trudeau Government of Canada’s announced ban on the sale of new vehicles equipped with an internal combustion engine by 2035.

As mentioned in a previous blog post Mayor Genung referred to connectivity in his strong endorsement of the project (“The town of Cochrane is excited for the Government of Canada’s investment in our community and pleased to provide our support as we work towards our commitment to environmental stewardship and enhanced connectivity.”) and Mitchell Hamm did as well in a Town of Cochrane news release, “E-scooter pilot program returns to Cochrane with a new electric vehicle partner, Bird”, on June 23, 2023 wherein he acknowledged that the e-scooter program is intended “to support Cochrane’s environmental and transportation goals of limiting carbon emissions”, and explained as part of Council’s Strategic Plan, “this pilot project supports connectivity, vibrancy and livability in Cochrane”.

The whole process kicked off with Devin LaFleche submitting a Zero Emission Transit Fund (ZETF) Expression of Interest Application Form to the federal government on September 9, 2021. In September 2022 Mr. LaFleche left the Town of Cochrane to take up a position, Regional Planning Strategist, with Rocky View County. Up until that time, he was the primary contact interacting with the team from the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC) the organization retained to carry out the project.

On September 21, 2022, Devin LaFleche received an email from a CUTRIC representative asking for more information in response to the Expression of Interest form that LaFleche had submitted in September 2021 in order to move matters forward with respect to the “project kickoff”. As he was soon to be leaving the Town of Cochrane that month, he, identifying himself as “(He/Him), Community Connectivity Advisor”, subsequently followed up with an email to Mitchell Hamm, Director, Community Services, asking if Hamm would “like to still pursue the ZETF study”. LaFleche was delighted by the affirmative response (“We would, and you can list me as the contact.”) received from Hamm. Subsequently, Mitchell Hamm enthusiastically became the town’s primary contact person on the project along with the assistance of a Mr. Yuchen Tang, who was hired in January 2023 as the town’s new Community Connectivity Advisor, replacing Mr. LaFleche (He/Him).

Mr. LaFleche probably got along swimmingly with the CUTRIC team as they likewise chose to identify their pronouns along with their job titles, not surprizing that the Trudeau government would choose a woke, similarly ideologically driven, organization to be retained to carry out the Zero Emission Transit Fund project. Mr. LaFLeche’s ‘gift’ to the town of Cochrane prior to his departure was to set the town up to replace its current fleet of petroleum-powered internal combustion engine buses with battery powered buses.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the records received through the FOIP request clearly revealed that this project was primarily driven by the Town’s Administration (with the leads being Mr. Devin LaFleche, (He/Him), Community Connectivity Advisor, until his departure from the town in September 2022 to take up a position with Rocky View County, and subsequently, Mr. Mitchell Hamm, Director, Community Services). Communications in May 2022 suggest that the mayor was apprised of the existence of the project. Although the project received the mayor’s blessing in the June 1, 2023 press release for the project, there is no record of the project having formally been approved by the Town Council at a public Town Council meeting. However, the absence of a response to question #2 above (“I would like to hear from each Council member individually, if or not they are “excited” by this project?”) in my June 9, 2023 email to Town Council, suggests that they are likewise “excited” about the project, or they are too cowardly to say otherwise.

While the project may be looked upon as a ‘feasibility’ study, it most likely is the first step to replace Cochrane’s bus fleet with electric buses, or more correctly, battery-powered buses. There is extensive evidence to support such a conclusion, including the following:

• The name of the Government of Canada fund supporting the study, namely, the “Zero Emission Transit Fund”.
• The title of the June 1, 2023 press release, “The Government of Canada and the Town of Cochrane invest to plan (emphasis added) for the electrification of Cochrane’s transit fleet”.
• Josipa Petrunić, President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium, quoted in that press release as saying, “Decarbonizing public transit isn’t just a choice, it’s a necessity”.
• Josipa Petrunić, President and CEO of the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium, quoted in a Cochrane Eagle article promoting the project, as saying, “right now, there’s a lot of money at the federal level to buy electric buses”.
• In Mr. LaFleche’s September 9, 2021 Zero Emission Transit Fund (ZETF) Expression of Interest Application, he identified the anticipated benefit from funding of a “planning project” under the Zero Emission Transit Fund (ZETF), as being that it “will achieve the key objectives of Zero Emission Transit Fund” in that it “will reduce our local and regional transit services environmental impact…using electric transit buses” by replacing “the current diesel fleet (three 12m coach buses with one year remaining life expectancies),and help transition our gasoline local transit fleet (eight 8m ARBOC shuttle buses with three year remaining life expectancies”), showing the clear intent of the planning project.
• In the (ZETF) Expression of Interest Application, Mr. LaFleche, also answered yes, to the question, “Have you undertaken any planning to date on transitioning to a zero-emission fleet?”, as well as, yes to the question, “Would you benefit from additional planning to increase your state of readiness to transition to zero emission fleet prior to submitting a full application for a capital project under the ZETF?”
• In a January 27, 2022 email from the Zero Emission Transit Fund team with Infrastructure Canada, inviting the Town of Cochrane to proceed to Stage II of the application process, LaFleche was offered the choice of two options “to conduct the planning necessary for transit fleet electrification”.
• In a January 28, 2022 email, LaFleche advised Drew Hyndman, Director, Community Services, and Stacey Loe, Executive Director, Protective and Community Services, that the town had progressed to the application phase for the Zero Emission Transit Fund (ZETF) Study grant, and that “The study would help us prepare for a ZETF capital project grant application (50% but stackable to 100%) or future zero emission transit grants”.
• In a January 16, 2023 email, Mitchell Ham’s Administrative Assistant advised the CAO’s Executive Assistant that, “CUTRIC has been engaged to complete a study that will help guide future transit infrastructure”.
• In minutes from CUTRIC Cochrane Kick-Off meeting, December 14, 2022, despite extensive redaction, there is a notation that, “CUTRIC was brought to the town of Cochrane as they have a unique transit service, and the idea is to decarbonize it”.

Bottom line: Do we want our town to be marching to the tune of Justin Trudeau and the WEF?

UPDATE, November 16, 2023

On September 23, 2023, I wrote an email to ms. Jaylene Knight, Director, Legislative & Administrative Service objecting to the heavy hand in redacting the material that was provided:
Disappointingly, the FOIP package that you provided has been heavily redacted making one seriously wonder what the Town of Cochrane is trying to hide. 
Interestingly, the heavy hand with the black marker started out with the very first item in the FOIP package provided, namely, a May 25, 2023 email, “Council Brief: ZETF Funding Announcement”, from Mitchell Hamm to the Town Council advising them of the study underway to electrify the Town’s bus fleet. In the email from Mitchell Hamm to Town Council, and not involving a third party, at one point he lists how the study “is specifically tailored to address our community’s unique needs”. To me the supposed benefits of this study to the community should not be kept secret from the community. Such information, in my view, should be provided. Likewise, I see no reason for redacting the second paragraph in Mr. Hamm’s email nor what follows after, “This announcement comes as a surprise, as it deviates from the expected timeline”.  
Likewise, I question the redaction found  on pages 112 to 116 related to communications between town staff, having no engagement with the third party.
When it comes to the third party referenced in red at the top of many pages, which in this case I understand applies to the Canadian Urban Transit Research and Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC), I believe there should not be a withholding of information given that since this organization has been specifically retained by the federal government to carry out the study in question, it should be treated as an agent of the federal government.
I would appreciate your lifting some of these unnecessary redactions.
I understand that before making before submitting a request for review or privacy complaint to the Privacy Commissioner one should first try to come to a resolution with the public body in question about withholding of information. 

She replied more than two weeks later on October 10, 2023 that she was satisfied that the redactions were completed “as per guidance within the legislation” and suggested that if I wasn’t satisfied, I should ask the Information and Privacy Commissioner to review their response, which I proceeded to do  on October 13, 2023, submitting a Request for Review form. I received a reply from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner on October 16, 2023 that my complaint was received and advised that I would receive written notification upon commencement of the formal review. I was also told that “At this time we are unable to provide you with an estimated time line on the review as we are experiencing a high volume”. Disappointing that a month had passed and still no notification has been received.

UPDATE, January 5, 2024

Informed by Michelle Delorme, Manager, Community Services, on January 5, 2024 that the final report will be presented to the council on March 18th, 2024.