(The following editorial appeared on the Toronto Star website on October 26.)
TORONTO — Sometimes it’s difficult not to look a gift horse in the mouth, particularly when the gift in question is $700 million for cash-strapped VIA Rail.
Transport Minister David Collenette last week promised new funding over five years to upgrade the passenger railway’s national network and to preserve the option for high-speed service from Windsor to Quebec city. The announcement of the long-term investment comes more than six months after he laid out a sweeping transportation strategy that was filled with vague ideas, but was short on offers of money.
This new funding, in addition to a $400 million contribution to VIA in April, 2000, is the largest cash infusion for passenger rail service in Canadian history. It’s about time Ottawa coughed up these millions, which will be well-spent on new locomotives and rail cars, as well as track and station improvements.
Years of talk about a high-speed rail corridor from Windsor through Toronto to Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec city haven’t amounted to much, even though the need for faster, more dependable trains and better rail lines is greater than ever.
Canadians face continued upheaval and steadily increasing fares in the airline industry. Roads are congested, slowing freight and travellers alike. More than 116,000 additional passengers rode VIA trains in 2002 over 2001. Improving train travel would aid our tourism industry. And greater use of low-polluting trains would help Canada meet its Kyoto climate accord commitments.
The announcement doesn’t mean we’ll see a high-tech “bullet” train running between Toronto and Montreal anytime soon, but it will allow VIA to maintain its infrastructure until the Crown corporation is ready to take that leap into the future.
Regrettably, while Collenette’s pledge is promising news for travellers, his timing is dreadful.
The Liberal cabinet approved this rail bonanza just as Prime Minister Jean Chrétien’s reign is winding down. The money isn’t scheduled to start flowing until the fiscal year 2004-2005, by which time Paul Martin will have succeeded Chrétien.
This decision, regardless of whether it was to go ahead or not, should have been left to Martin and his cabinet. It is totally unacceptable for Chrétien to make such a costly decision in his final days. He should have made the move months, if not years, ago.
Spokesmen for Martin were quick to dampen enthusiasm about the huge VIA expenditure, saying Martin will review the spending decision once he takes office early next year.
When he does review it, Martin should lean heavily to letting it go ahead. The money could be well-spent. It would be a shame if the plan gets knocked off the tracks now.