(VIA Rail issued the following press release on September 20.)
MONTREAL — VIA Rail Canada will be one of the partners sponsoring the Governor General’s Performing Arts Awards in 2006. This is the first time that the national passenger rail service is supporting the nation’s most prestigious awards for performing artists. Each of the six prizes is presented to a different field within this sector (theatre, dance, classical music, opera, popular music, film and broadcasting) as part of an annual set of activities, including an official awards ceremony and a gala. Names of the 2006 laureates will be announced on September 19th in Montreal.
“VIA Rail Canada is proud to be associated with tributes to artists who have enriched Canada’s cultural heritage and whose influence has spanned the world,” said Paul Côté, VIA President and CEO. “We are particularly pleased, as the Awards are celebrating their 15th anniversary this year. The list of laureates from the very start demonstrates that these artists all share exceptional talent and the ability to enhance our lives.”
VIA Rail believes that these artists and the Canadian passenger railway share something in common-the determination to fulfil a dream that once seemed impossible. The desire to link both of Canada’s oceans by rail appeared out of the question 150 years ago. But pioneers of our transcontinental rail service had the same kind of unshakeable faith as great artists-and they met the challenge. The result: Canada can now pride itself on passenger rail lines that hold a world-wide reputation for their beauty and their elegance.
As Canada’s national passenger rail service, VIA Rail Canada’s mandate is to provide efficient, environmentally responsible and cost effective passenger transportation services, both in Canada’s busiest corridor and in remote and rural regions of the country. Serving more than 450 communities along a network of intercity, transcontinental and regional trains, demand for rail services continues to grow as more Canadians turn to train travel as a safe and convenient travel choice.