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e-5097

Petition to the Government of Canada

Whereas:
  • Since its creation in 1978, VIA Rail has lacked both the legislative mandate and stable budget necessary to maintain and improve passenger rail service in Canada;
  • Unlike other Crown Corporations such as Canada Post and Marine Atlantic, VIA Rail is governed by an Order-in-Council and lacks an enabling Act;
  • Unlike other public passenger rail providers around the world, VIA Rail lacks democratic representation from both passengers and workers on its board of directors;
  • Due to federal cutbacks and underinvestment over many years, Canada’s current passenger rail services lag far behind those available in other countries;
  • While VIA Rail's on-time performance on tracks it owns is over 90 percent, it is only 60 percent on tracks it must pay to use on private railways;
  • The failure of private intercity bus services in Canada has left many Indigenous, rural and remote Canadians without connections to other communities;
  • Call to Justice 4.8 from the National Inquiry into Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women & Girls report calls for all of Canada to be connected by safe, affordable, and reliable modes of public transit; and
  • Passenger rail is a safe, efficient, sustainable, affordable, and accessible mode of public transportation.
We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to:
1. Incorporate the contents of Bills C-371, the Rail Passenger Priority Act, and C-236/C-640 (41-2) the VIA Rail Canada Act, in a Government Bill and prioritize its passage through the legislative process; and
2. Create seats for passenger and worker representatives on the Board of Directors for both VIA Rail Canada Inc. and VIA HFR Incorporated.

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