Just in time for St. Patrick’s Day “strong” mayor Mrakas was quick to jump aboard the town’s shiny new green electric “zamboni”:
Notice how he put the trademarked brand in quotes because what he is resting his ass on for a photo is not a zamboni at all, the ice resurfacer is made by Engo.
Quick fact. Engo isn’t a Canadian company, it is Italian:
So why is our “strong” mayor, who is always sticking #shoplocal to his posts proud of the town aquiring a foreign made ice resurfacer. Are there no local options?
Well yes, actualy there are.
Olympia has a line of electric resurfacers. They are based in Elmira, Ontario:
In fact Zamboni, the premiere brand that the mayor referenced also has an electric line of resurfacers and guess what, they have maintained a Canadian operation since 1967 in Brantford, Ontario:
So the takeaway I get from the weak-ass leadership that got this done is that Ontario buisnesses lost out on a Town of Aurora contract and the town ends up with a “zamboni” in name only the same way that a shamrock shake gets its colour, by way of an insane amount of food colouring.
Aurora is in no way a leader in the greening of this pert of their fleet and is of course playing catch-up to more progressive municipalities, including over a dozen municipalities out west (Jasper; Medicine Hat; the cities of Airdrie, Brooks, Leduc; and the towns of Innisfail, Slave and Millet) that have used MCCAC funding to help switch their gas-powered ice resurfacers to electric.
Outside of Alberta, at least a dozen communities across Ontario and at least one community each in Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec and British Columbia have adopted electric ice resurfacers.
The bigger question is does the Mayor’s enthusiasm for electric vehicles translate off the ice?
Green municipal fund has an article series on how communities across Canada are Electrifying municipal fleets:
In it we read Kingston with a population of 133,000 which was confronted with financial, technological and policy barriers to electrification. Yet the city developed a proactive strategy around a leasing policy to build their EV fleets.
Aurora is way behind.
Instead of procuring suitable green vehicles previous councils secured a “smart” car so they could take a photo-op in front of it. The vehicle that current Clr.s Gaertner and Gallo voted for without doing due diligence proved to be a piece of shit. It was inappropriate unsafe for staff to use, was plagued by mechanical issues reducing its use and increasing its cost.
More recently council adopted the town’s Green Fleet Action plan (GFAP) which stated it was taking the lead to cleaner air in Aurora:
We read that the Energy Conservation and Management Plan Update 2019-2023 set a goal for fleet vehicles of improving average fuel efficiency to 23L/100km and reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions by 50% (245 mtCO2e) by 2023, compared to 2018 levels.
But then we also read that the ECDM Plan did not capture all the 2018 fleet fuel data due to fuel dispensing equipment issues. As a result of the data discrepancy, the Green Fleet Action Plan(GFAP) is setting a more accurate and realistic reduction target of 50% reduction by 2028, rather than by 2023, based on a complete year’s data.
Wow, so under “Leadership that gets things done” Aurora failed to get something as simple as data collection and as a result has lost 5 years of fuel efficiency for its fleet, meaning what should have been “done” last year is now pushed out to 2028.
Considering that the town has set a goal for improving fuel efficiency and reducing green house gas emissions for its fleet, why does this not extend to vehicles used by council members while conducting town business?
Unlike a zamboni a council of 7 members likely utilize 7 different vechicles daily.
How many of them are considered green?
As a town our taxes pay to compensate all members of council for their vehicles through an allowance. Council members recently received a bump up to $7k / year, the mayor is $10K:
6 x $7,000 + $10K = $52,000 a year to compensate council to move around town by vehicle.
Why is this compensation not adjusted into a two-tier rate that provides greater incentive. Especially when the province has failed to do so.
It is not as though council or our “strong” mayor can claim ignorance.
The town lists 22 plans on its website, one named “the mayor’s energy challenge” along with the aforementioned green fleet action plan:
The Town runs an electric vehicle showcase:
The town has recently installed 8 new electrical charging stations.
And the Mayor has taken photos riding the Sarit trike back in 2021 saying he looked forward to seeing it on the road. Sure, seeing it but driving one himself?
That would require a clear display of leadership. This Globe and Mail article from may 5th, 2021 would agree.
So where is Aurora’s leadership by example?
When our mayor took his unannounced trip to Washington he was gushing with Bernie Sanders about having his sticker in his truck:
It appears the mayor has driven a large pick-up truck as his primary vehicle his entire term on council. He had a white one until around 2021 and then now drives a black one.
Cool, so it is an electric truck, right?
Well let’s check the photos he so proudly shared on social media several times when getting it washed at local car wash events:
Hey, does that thing have a HEMI? Oh, yes it does.
This post of the mayor’s about “walking” shows a very similar black truck to his behind him which appears to have its tail lights on, possibly idling beside the library:
Aurora is not a rural municipality that necessitates a massive truck and our mayor isn’t Doug Ford shovelling motorists stuck on a highway. He is usually driving to and from local events to snap selfies or sits behind a desk. If he enjoys walking as much as he claims, an no longer is involved in the construction trades please enlighten me as to how exactly the mayor’s choice to drive a V8 5.7L gas pick-up truck in suburban municipality align with the town’s plans?
This action/impact matrix suggests it doesn’t:
Here are the 10 Success Measures listed for the Green fleet:
Let’s just focus on the top 3;
1 – A corporate culture that encourages environmental leadership – FAIL
2 – an internal champion – FAIL
3. Commitment to Greening the fleet from the ground floor operational level up to the most senior levels of the organization – FAIL
There always is an opportunity to lead by example, but it appears our mayor is not strong enough to rise to the challenge.
Continued virtue signaling and taking selfies over taking action only erodes the community’s trust.
Marking the 20th anniversary of the Trews’ fourth single from House of Ill Fame, here is the previously unreleased music video for Fleeting Trust:
#ActingAloneToGetThingsDumb
#DoAsISayNotAsIDo
#WeakAssMayor
#CauseYoureWrongAndYouKnowRightAway
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