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Laurie in Question Period

Ministerial Vehicle Fleet

Ms Blakeman: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Right now significant taxpayer dollars are going to pay for ministers’ gas-guzzling cars. In the spring, when we asked the Minister of Service Alberta about making the ministerial vehicle fleet more fuel efficient, she responded that “the government is moving in that direction.” My question is to the Minister of Service Alberta. What is the status report? How far has the government managed to move?

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Mrs. Klimchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I’m pleased to provide some information on that. Service Alberta and Alberta Environment are currently working together on a number of initiatives for making the Alberta government vehicle fleet more environmentally friendly, including alternative fuels and introducing more fuel-efficient vehicles into the fleet. We have introduced 36 hybrid vehicles into the fleet as of today. There are challenges with introducing hybrids. For a large portion of the vehicles that are used in the rural remote areas, hybrids are impractical, so we are looking at this very carefully, making sure that we are using taxpayers’ dollars properly.

The Speaker: The hon. member.

Ms Blakeman: Thank you very much, Mr. Speaker. Well, out of the ministerial fleet is the minister able to tell me how many of the ministers are driving fuel-efficient cars?

Mrs. Klimchuk: Mr. Speaker, currently in the ministerial fleet there are, I believe, three cars that are environmentally friendly. That is something I am working on currently with the executive and is something that we certainly need to move towards, as I said previously.

An Hon. Member: Who puts the gas in your car?

Ms Blakeman: I walk.

When will these $43,500 taxpayer-funded benefits come with at least a minimal requirement of environmental responsibility for these ministers?

The Speaker: The hon. minister.

Mrs. Klimchuk: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Again, with the Minister of Environment we are working with respect to the department vehicles first, and then we will be moving on to the executive cars. That’s something I intend to push as well. We are looking at the reducing of idling in all government vehicles, and that’s something that we are working on right now.