Subscribe to RSS Feed
e-5097 (Transportation)
E-petition
Initiated by Christopher Graper from Toronto, Ontario
Original language of petition: English
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.
- Open for signature
- August 15, 2024, at 11:31 a.m. (EDT)
- Closed for signature
- December 13, 2024, at 11:31 a.m. (EDT)
