VIA Rail Canada HRF $4B rail plan shrouded in secrecy redacted from public

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Tue, 2022-01-18 15:20

plangan

I have written about VIA Rail Canada's shroud of secrecy around their dubious high frequency rail (HFR) plan often. (March 19, 2021 LINK) Passenger rail zealots do not care if they see the details, they just blindly support the plan.

The federal office of the Information Commissioner of Canada in December 2021 issued a judgement stating there was no reason for VIA Rail not letting the public see the HFR business plan.

Fast forward to now and the heavily redacted VIA Rail Canada HFR draft plan is out there in cyber space and it is almost unreadable due to how much has been blacked out. Critics have asked for simple questions to be answered yet VIA Rail Canada is unwilling to answer them. It would seem the HFR plan will not hold up to public scrutiny.

What has VIA Rail Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank prevented you from seeing in the plan? Here are a few of the basic facts redacted from the public.

REDACTED - The cost benefit analysis of the HFR plan.
REDACTED - The projected revenue for the HFR plan.
REDACTED - The proposed alignments for the HFR.
REDACTED - How the trains plan to get in and out of Montreal and Toronto.
REDACTED - They will not tell you how many jobs will be created.

We deserve better from our tax payer funded VIA Rail Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank. Who can stop this debacle?

Tue, 2022-01-18 16:32

JKR

plangan wrote:

We deserve better from our tax payer funded VIA Rail Canada and the Canada Infrastructure Bank. Who can stop this debacle?

Via Rail's CEO or the Minister of Transport?

Thu, 2022-03-17 12:51

epaulo13

Feds’ move to privatize Via Rail corridor feels like ‘bait and switch’: NDP transport critic

The NDP and Unifor are concerned a passenger rail service connecting Toronto and Quebec City could become privatized following a federal announcement last week.

On March 9, federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra revealed the government is seeking private proposals to solicit “advice and views from industry” for the Via Rail high-frequency Quebec City-Windsor corridor.

“This really feels like a bait and switch … that the government is intending to have the rail line operated by a private company,” the NDP’s transport critic Taylor Bachrach told Canada’s National Observer. “This is a huge project and a huge opportunity for Canada and we need to get it right.”

The government’s expression of interest says the private sector would help design, build and finance the high-frequency rail project “that they would ultimately operate and maintain” and collect revenues from.

While it is common for major infrastructure projects to involve the private sector in the construction and design phases, Bachrach said “the idea that a private corporation could also take over the operation of this line over the long term” is a surprise and is “not going to be in the best interest of Canadians.”.....

Thu, 2022-03-17 12:59

epaulo13

VIA Rail P3 privatization must be stopped in its tracks

Unifor plans to aggressively fight back against the federal government's latest announcement to privatize the VIA Rail corridor.

"Public-Private Partnerships cost more, don't work, and the facts speak for themselves," Scott Doherty, Unifor's Lead Negotiator for Rail. "Privatization in transportation means higher costs, broken promises, worse service and route closures. P3s reward companies where workers are paid less and have job insecurity, and often leads to risks to health and safety risks. This proposed P3, like many other projects, is bound to go off the rails."

Today federal transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced that the government is seeking private proposals to cover service for the VIA rail high-frequency corridor. The union believes this is the first of many steps to privatize VIA Rail.

"Canadians need investments in passenger rail that is publicly owned and operated, not a plan that pours public dollars into private profit," said Jenn Murray, Chairperson, Unifor Rail Council. "Canada is a large country and we need to ensure our communities, large and small, are connected. Reliable, public investments in passenger rail will return significant social, economic and environmental benefits for all Canadians."

Privatizing or contracting out the Québec City–Windsor Corridor is close to contracting out the entire VIA Rail system. The corridor accounts for more than 90% of the passengers and close to 75% of the revenues of VIA Rail.

"While countries, such as the U.S. and U.K., are making significant, historic investments in improving and enhancing their national passenger rail networks, Canada is heading the complete opposite direction. The federal government must reverse this decision," said Doherty.

The union launched the national campaign, "Get Canada Back On Track. Invest In Passenger Rail". The campaign, aimed at the federal government, seeks to establish a legislative framework in favour of public, accessible, safe passenger rail and secure immediate public investments to build Canada's passenger rail infrastructure, prioritize passenger trains, and improve services for travellers.

Unifor represents more than 2,000 maintenance workers, on-board service personnel, chefs, sales agents and customer service staff at VIA Rail.....

Thu, 2022-03-17 13:04

epaulo13

..i have no doubt this decision has been influenced by the tmx pipeline fiasco.

Thu, 2022-03-17 20:08

laine lowe laine lowe's picture

The P3 model for investing in public goods like water and transportation has been a disaster in the developing world where governments dependent on World Bank project funding only have the P3 option.

Wed, 2022-04-06 14:45

epaulo13

Unifor Prairie activists rally to keep VIA Rail public

Nearly 300 Unifor activists from across the Prairies will march to Union Station demanding the federal government reverse its plan to privatize the VIA Rail Windsor to Quebec City corridor.

What: Rally to Save VIA Rail
Who: VIA Rail Workers; Lana Payne, Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer; Gavin McGarrigle, Unifor Western Regional Director; Scott Doherty, Unifor Executive Assistant and VIA Lead Negotiator
When: 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 6, 2022
Where: Union Station, 123 Main Street, Winnipeg, MB

“Canadians need a safe and sustainable passenger rail network that is publicly-funded, adequately funded, and widely used,” Lana Payne, Unifor National Secretary-Treasurer. “The federal government’s plan to privatize the VIA Rail corridor is wrong-headed and will in no way prepare Canada for the greener transit future we all are counting on.”

On March 9, federal transport Minister Omar Alghabra announced that the government is seeking private proposals to cover service for the VIA rail high-frequency corridor.

This is the first of many steps to privatize VIA Rail says Unifor and the union has launched a national campaign, “Get Canada Back on Track” which seeks to establish a federal legislative framework for public, accessible, safe passenger rail and secure investments to build Canada's passenger rail infrastructure, prioritize passenger trains, and improve passenger rail service.....

Wed, 2022-04-06 16:54

NorthReport

Unifor not only doesnt support other unions it raids them. And now they want help from other unions. Good luck with that one.
https://www.usw.ca/news/media-centre/articles/2018/the-facts-on-unifors-....

Wed, 2022-04-06 17:37

epaulo13

..i totally understand the positions unifor leadership took. and i also don't agree with what has happened.

..but via rail doesn't belong to unifor it belongs to the peoples of canada. i'm glad someone is standing against this privatisation. another family jewel being sold off in a time of environmental transformation..a time of when we most need it.