The Alberta Government is investing $13.5 million over three years to share the cost of Calgary’s Low Income Transit Pass and the mayor says the funding will go a long way to help reduce poverty in the city.
Mayor Naheed Nenshi and Minister of Human Services, Irfan Sabir, made the announcement on Friday morning from Historic City Hall and the initiative is part of Calgary’s existing poverty prevention program.
“I am pleased to announce today that we will be partnering with the City of Calgary to support their Fair Entry Program. As part of our joint efforts to reduce and prevent poverty, Human Services is investing $4.5 million over the next three years in Calgary’s’ Low income Transit Pass,” said Sabir. “Calgary’s Low Income Transit Pass makes it easier for low income families to get around the city to access jobs, education, health care, community resources and government services.”
Mayor Nenshi says one in ten Calgarians are living in poverty but that everyone in the community loses when there are people who can’t afford to meet their basic day-to-day needs.
“When people cannot fully participate in the community, when they cannot participate in the great opportunity that this place gives us, we all lose. We all lose when our community members don’t have what they need to be healthy, fully engaged and contributing citizens. That’s why poverty reduction has been such an important part of my mandate, in the time that I’ve been honoured to be your mayor, why I was so pleased that council passed unanimously, our Poverty Reduction Strategy for all. One of the goals of that strategy is that everyone in Calgary can easily get the right support services and resources and the funding that we’re talking about today gets us much closer to that goal,” he said.
The passes cost $44 month and the city says 25,000 Calgarians take advantage of the Low Income Transit passes each month.
For more information on Low Income Monthly Passes click HERE or scroll the document below.
