Edmonton Alberta - Q: What are your thoughts on the idea of Edmonton LRT expanding beyond current projects, and funding for Calgary's Green Line LRT project?
 
A: We've made some good progress on the Edmonton LRT network. We're hopefully going to have some resolution to the Green Line issue and I just say that's something that we as a funding partner get the best value for money, but we're also looking at our master rail plan of having more commuter rail across the province, trying to tie into the LRT networks into the downtown cores of Edmonton and Calgary. There are some big things to come regarding rail plans and how the existing LRT networks can expand and work into a province-wide passenger rail network. There's more to come on that in the new year.
 
Q: Are you able to provide any updates on the green line?
 
A: AECOM's work on redesigning the downtown alignment will be ready here now soon. That's something that we in our working groups with the mayor, premier, councillors, and MLAs, we're going to be meeting very shortly to share that new downtown alignment and make sure that the public is aware of what that looks like. Then it'll be a vote by Calgary council to accept that new alignment downtown.
 
Q: Are there any concerns right now about cost overruns on, for example, Edmonton's Yellowhead Trail project or others?
 
A: We've seen it on specific projects. We respect taxpayers' dollars, and we want to make sure that these projects are on time and on budget. But we have seen certain projects run over and that's something that we've worked with the construction industry to make sure there's more communication and better engagement with the department and the construction companies to make sure that there aren't these risks premiums built into contracts and unnecessary delays. A lot of work has been done to date on making sure that our procurement process changes so that we don't see these cost overruns or these delays later on in the project. We can try to address as much as we can upfront and have ongoing engagement with the industry.
 
Q: What about engagement with municipalities if there is, for example, some kind of cost overrun that does come up?
 
A: When municipalities have projects themselves, it's something that we throughout all these consultations, are sharing our lessons learned that we have, and it's case by case. Sometimes municipalities in certain months have really good relations with the construction industry, and we learn lessons from them. I think it's just that ongoing engagement with municipalities to make sure that we can get the best value for taxpayers dollars.
 
Cindy Tran.