(The office of David Collenette, Canada’s Transport Minister, issued Mr. Collenette’s speaking notes on March 26.)
MISSISSAUGA, Ontario — This is a great day for the people of the Greater Toronto Area andsouthern Ontario.
The federal government is announcing $435 million in funding for an urbantransportation strategy that will benefit commuters from across the region byproviding new and more frequent service to the residents of the GTA and the surrounding communities.
Our strategy will reduce smog and congestion on our highways. It will provide commuters with more options and better service. And it will reduce the frustration of being stuck on the 401, being stuck on the Don Valley Parkway, and being stuck on the QEW.
This strategy will take more than 14 million commuters from their cars, reducing fuel consumption and improving air quality and the quality of life for the people living in the area.
The federal government has committed to making strategic investments to improve Canada’s transportation infrastructure, particularly in urban areas.
Today, the Government of Canada is committing $435 million for improvements to GO Transit’s rail network in the extended GTA as well as the “Quick Start” phase of the York Region Rapid Transit Plan. With matching funds from Queen’s Park and the municipalities, this will mean a $1.2 billion investment.
The investment we are announcing today will increase track capacity to accommodate additional train frequencies at peak hours. It will also introduce all-day service to many municipalities, eliminate grade crossings and upgrade existing track.
And this strategy will bring new services to Barrie, Peterborough, Cambridge, Waterloo, Guelph and Niagara Region. In addition, in the next few months I will also be announcing several new initiatives as part of VIA Rail’s commuter strategy that will further improve options for commuters travelling between Niagara Falls, Hamilton, London, Brantford and Toronto. And a new VIA station will be built in Hamilton.
This urban strategy demonstrates the federal government’s commitment to a balanced and integrated transportation system for the economic prosperity of this region. This will enable more commuters in the GTA to leave their cars at home and take advantage of the excellent service provided by GO Transit.
This strategy is consistent with my Straight Ahead vision which I announced on February 25th. But I recognize that urban transportation solutions require the participation of all levels of government.
With today’s announcement we will continue to advance discussions with the Government of Ontario to secure provincial and municipal funding to complete these projects.
This strategy will facilitate the future implementation of a direct rail service between Union Station and Pearson Airport. In the coming weeks, I will be inviting submissions for business cases from the pre-qualified private sector consortia who have expressed an interest in building this air-rail link. This air-rail link will be built.
This announcement culminates the work of Transport Canada over the past three years to develop rail-based solutions to Southern Ontario’s transportation needs — improving passenger rail capacity and freight traffic flows by major upgrades in rail infrastructure.
I would like to thank all of the members of the Ontario Caucus, in particular the members from the GTA, who have worked with us to turn this dream into reality.
Thank you.