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“Cutting almost half of a billion dollars from a funding agreement, in my view, is a wholesale cut of the funding,” said Keating. “It’s come to the point now, without a drastic change in the financial model or scope of the project, I can’t put the burden on the backs of Calgary taxpayers.

“As someone who has lived and breathed this project for nine years, it’s devastating for me to say: I don’t know if I can support it anymore.”

Keating’s comments come as the city prepares to hold a special council meeting Monday to discuss the impact of provincial cuts. Edmonton city council held a similar meeting Friday where elected officials heard the city could be forced to delay infrastructure spending and take on more debt for construction of the Valley Line West LRT.

Both cities are scrambling to respond to significant reductions in capital transfers and grants from the province.

Photo by Colleen De Neve / Calgary Herald

On Friday, Calgary transportation staff shelved an order for more than a dozen new railcars that were to replace some of the fleet’s 40-year-old U2 CTrain cars. The city had previously been promised $100 million from the province to help fund the replacements, but that funding was slashed in Thursday’s budget.

Nearly every single railcar the city owns is already in service during rush hour, Mayor Naheed Nenshi explained Thursday night. “At some point, if the U2s fail, (it) means we just have to pull them out of service. Which means four (railcar) trains become three-car trains. It’s got very serious implications on frontline services.”