AMBM President, Mr. Ivan Normandeau, issued the following statement regarding the $300,000 federal investment to its subsidiary, Eco-West Canada:
On February 11th, 2022, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) announced an investment of $300,000 to our subsidiary, Eco-West Canada (EWC), as part of the Zero Emission Vehicle Awareness Initiative (ZEVAI). This funding will enable EWC to develop and deploy a series of webinars and workshops designed to increase and accelerate the shift to zero-emission vehicles in the Canadian Prairies.
For nearly 15 years, EWC has been the driving force of Manitoba’s bilingual municipal leadership in the green economy across Western Canada. At its core, EWC’s mandate is to assist small and medium-sized Canadian municipalities and their communities in making and achieving their energy transition in a responsible and sustainable economic development manner.
NRCan could not have chosen a better “vehicle” than EWC to lead this project. In doing so, NRCan is making a strategic choice to capitalize on the organization’s leading-edge expertise, local knowledge and credibility in the green economy in the greater Prairie region.
NRCan’s investment through ZEVAI is perfectly aligned with the vision of our Municipal Economic Recovery Strategy 2021-2024 as 80% of the infrastructure projects are related to sustainable development initiatives for an overall investment of $222.4 million.
In Manitoba, the Prairies and across Canada, we need a strong EWC that can act as a voice to engage all orders of government and the private sector in achieving bold carbon neutrality targets. A responsible, pragmatic and winning energy transition depends on the active participation of all these actors. Hence the importance of catalyzing their respective strengths and roles.
I hope that today’s announcement marks the beginning of a long-term collaboration between NRCan and EWC so that together we can create a mass movement to counter the effects of climate change and move sustainably towards practices that respect the environment and human life.
Information: Office of the Chief Executive Officer (O-CEO), 204-289-4077, [email protected].
