Trans-national Passenger Transportation Policy Needed

WINNIPEG--The government should step in to protect the mobility of Canadians from being adversely affected by corporate decisions, says the Green Party of Canada, responding to recent threats from Greyhound to abandon routes in northern Ontario and Manitoba unless it gets $15 million in government aid.

"The loss of rural bus routes is a sad example of how the mobility of Canadians can be held hostage by foreign corporate interests," said William Munsey, Green Party Transport Critic.  "If we had a coherent trans-national passenger transportation policy in this country, we would be immune to such threats."

Texas-based Greyhound is also reviewing its operations in Alberta, Saskatchewan, BC, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories, claiming route services to small-town Canada are threatening profits.

"Successive Liberal and Conservative governments have gutted rail transportation in this country over the past three decades and deregulated the transportation industry. It was only a matter of time before our rural communities were threatened with isolation.  Not everyone can afford their own vehicles and now they may be left with no travel options," said Munsey.

"Reliable, safe, public transportation is an essential service in this country," said Green Leader Elizabeth May.  "It's about quality of life, it's about providing jobs, it's about reducing greenhouse gases, and it's about time the government stepped up and took action."

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Contact Information:
Debra Eindiguer, Press Secretary
613.614.4916, debra@greenparty.ca
www.greenparty.ca