Diesel Item for NOTLRA from Seniors for Climate in Niagara. August 16, 2025 At its meeting on August 14, 2025, the Niagara-on-the-Lake Residents Association endorsed the goal set by local environmental groups “That, beginning in 2026, Niagara Region allocates appropriate funding to support Niagara Transit’s ability to achieve a zero-emission bus fleet by 2050 through regional and external funding sources.” Diesel fumes from vehicles are a significant contributor to greenhouse gases, which are responsible for warming the atmosphere and increasing the rate of climate change. They also contain carcinogens that cause lung and bladder cancer, and are therefore a danger to employees and communities using diesel buses. In this era of climate crisis, municipalities that transition to zero-emission buses make a major contribution to mitigating climate change and reducing cancer risk in their jurisdictions. Four groups, Seniors for Climate in Niagara, Biodiversity and Climate Action Committee, 50by30Niagara, and Grimsby Environmental Network approached NOTLRA requesting endorsement of their campaign to persuade the Niagara Regional Council and Niagara Transit (NT) to start electrifying the NT bus fleet, and put an end to harmful diesel fumes being poured into Niagara’s communities from bus tailpipes. NT plans to expand its bus fleet from 187 to 345 buses in the next ten years. At present, NT has no electrification strategy and has, we believe, 35 diesel buses on order. Its 10-Year Investment and Growth Strategy makes no mention of creating infrastructure for zero-emission buses, or purchasing them. As a municipal service board, NT derives most of its funding from the Niagara Regional Council. In its 2025 capital budget request to the Region, NT put forward a plan to electrify its fleet, requesting just under four million dollars as part of a $55.25 million budget. The majority of the costs would be obtained from external grants and funding. The Region turned down the request, despite having declared a climate emergency in 2021, and having committed to achieving net zero GHG emissions by 2050. The four groups hope to meet with NT commissioners and Niagara Region councillors in the near future to learn more about the region’s plans and urge the two organizations to initiate transformative investment in a zero-emissions bus fleet in their 2026 budgets. They are also planning delegations to the Region’s 2026 budget committee. Frances Stocker of Seniors for Climate in Niagara, who brought the motion to the Residents Association, comments that “Although NOTL itself isn’t served by diesel buses, residents experience the same climate and breath the same air as bus users as they travel through the region. Perhaps, of even greater importance, while provincial and federal governments stall and even reverse climate change policies, municipalities are ideally placed to continue their own mitigation and adaptation initiatives which have an immediate impact on local quality of life. It’s for this reason we’re seeking endorsement for our campaign from residents’ and tax-payers’ associations throughout Niagara.”