Item - 2022.EX34.12

The Executive Committee recommends that:  

1. City Council authorize the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer to enter into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding with the Canada Infrastructure Bank for the purposes of negotiating terms of a credit facility relating to the purchase of Zero Emission Buses of up to $207 million depending and related charging infrastructure for the Toronto Transit Commission acceptable to the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and in a form acceptable to the City Solicitor.

2. City Council request the Toronto Transit Commission Board to direct the Chief Executive Officer,  Toronto Transit Commission to provide the necessary information to the Canada Infrastructure Bank to facilitate the negotiation of terms and to calculate the repayment of any funds drawn under this credit facility.

3. City Council amend Municipal Code, Chapter 30, Debentures and other Borrowing, to add the entering into conditional loan agreements with the Canada Infrastructure Bank to the authority delegated to the Mayor (or the Mayor's Alternate) and the Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer to enter into agreements pursuant to Municipal Code, Chapter 30 to commit the City to long term borrowing for capital works in the year 2022.

The purpose of this report is to take the necessary steps to establish a credit facility with the Canada Infrastructure Bank (CIB) for the purpose of financing the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) procurement of Zero Emission Buses (ZEBs).

As part of the overall process, the CIB requires the City and the TTC to enter into a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) before a final agreement for a multi-year credit facility is completed.  It is necessary for the TTC to be a party to this agreement as the repayment of the loan is based on the calculated operating savings between a diesel bus and a ZEB.  The TTC will be required to confirm this information before the credit facility is established and provide updates throughout the term of the loan.

The CIB credit facility will only finance the difference between the capital cost of a diesel bus and a ZEB, however will provide an overall lower cost of financing than if the City were to issue debt for the full amount of a ZEB on its own.  Currently, the rate of interest on funds drawn from the CIB credit facility is one percent (1%).

Currently, the TTC Green Bus Program includes the procurement of ZEBs. As of November 2021, TTC had a total fleet of 2,086 buses, including 60 ZEBs.  As part of this program, $376 million is captured in the 2022-2025 Capital Budget and Plan, comprised of $299 million to purchase 240 ZEBs plus another $77 million for charging infrastructure.  Of this total program amount of $376 million, the approved Capital Plan allows for $207 million of recoverable debt which is split between the ZEBs ($131 million) and charging infrastructure ($76 million).  The number of ZEBs may increase over the 240 planned units depending on grant monies that may follow from other orders of government. 

Related to this, CIB has been working collaboratively with Infrastructure Canada through its Zero Emission Transit Fund (ZETF), which does provide grants for the replacement of diesel public transit vehicles, with zero emission vehicles. Although not a condition of the ZETF program to have a CIB credit facility, priority for ZETF grants is being given to ZEB projects that are also being considered for CIB financing.  The TTC has applied to the ZETF program and is awaiting a response to their application.