Notes for an address by the Honourable Lawrence Cannon Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities Canadian Urban Transit Association

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan
May 28, 2006

Check Against Delivery

It's a great pleasure to be here. In many ways being here is a bit of a homecoming for me. As many of you know, I was once head of the urban transit system in my home community and I also served as President of the Association du transport urbain du Québec. During that time, I became involved with CUTA.  It was a great experience for me and I have always valued the knowledge I gained and the personal relationships I formed.  I still value that experience and those relationships - many of which continue to this day.

So coming into this room, I feel I am among friends. And I thank you very much for your warm welcome.

Our government's first budget demonstrates an unprecedented commitment to infrastructure and urban transit - it is a serious commitment which demonstrates the importance that this Government places on transit in the renewal of Canadian urban infrastructure and in our goals for a better environment. Moreover, it brings real money - new money - to the table. 

I'd like to thank CUTA for their comments on the budget and the federal role in supporting urban transit.

It shows we are prepared to work with our partners in the provinces, the territories and with municipalities and the private sector to make the kind of investments that must be made to ensure the future competitiveness and sustainability of Canada and to provide a high quality of life in every part of the country.

During the election, we campaigned on a platform of change that would move us towards that goal. We promised to provide accountable government and to respond to the real needs of Canadians.

We set out five key priorities. They are:

1. Cleaning up government by enacting and enforcing the Federal Accountability Act. That Act was introduced in the House last month.
2. Lowering taxes for working Canadians; starting by reducing the GST. In last month's Budget, the Finance Minister announced that the GST will be reduced by one percentage point as of July 1, 2006. In this Budget we are also providing comprehensive tax relief for individuals, valued at almost $20 billion over the next two years—more than the last four budgets combined.
3. Getting tough on crime. Budget 2006 provides $1.4 billion over two years to protect Canadian families and communities.  This money will help put more police officers in your neighborhoods, put more gang members in jail and secure our borders.
4. Supporting parents' child-care choices through direct assistance and by creating more daycare spaces. In the Budget, we announced $3.7 billion over two years for the Universal Child Care Benefit, which will provide all families with $100 per month for each child under age 6. We also announced $250 million to support the creation of new child-care spaces.
5. Delivering the health care Canadians need, when they need it through a 10-year plan to Strengthen Health Care.

These are the five priorities that we campaigned on. And I'll think you'll agree that we're making substantial progress in addressing all five priorities.

When Prime Minister Harper asked me to handle transportation, infrastructure and communities, I saw the synergies that come from putting the regulatory powers of Transport Canada and the funding programs of Infrastructure Canada together in the same portfolio.

For the first time, the vast majority of the federal government's transit-focused programs, from safety, to security, to funding, are found in a single portfolio.

And even though I am responsible for domestic and international air, marine and surface transport, I take a particular interest in my ability to promote urban transit.

In part, this is because more Canadians travel by public transit than any other mode except for private car.  For example, the Société de transport de l'Outaouais (STO), on its routes between Gatineau and Ottawa, invariably carries more people between Quebec and Ontario than Air Canada, or Via Rail.  Similarly, Vancouver's Seabus carried 4.8 million passengers in 2004, over 9 times as many as those carried by Marine Atlantic in the same year. Go Transit regularly serves about a third more passengers than Pearson Airport.

My commitment is also motivated by the fact that Canadians are breaking records in their zeal to embrace public transit.  Ridership is up 2.5%, and that number indicates year over year growth of about 35 million trips.  To put it in perspective, that's twice as many trips as STO carries in a typical year.

Perhaps those new passengers are walking away from high fuel prices, or congested roads.  Maybe they're embracing our made-in-Canada environmental agenda.  However, for the people in this room, the challenge in keeping those new riders is meeting their expectations of service.

Because of the Prime Minister's decision to create a single Portfolio of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, tonight I can tell you of four distinct ways that the federal government will be supporting urban transit over the coming months; funding supply, stimulating demand, supporting security and providing transit-friendly legislation.

Funding supply

As I mentioned, with our first budget the federal government has invested fully $1.3 billion in public transit.  Such a massive investment in public transit in a single year is without precedent.  Never before has a federal government so strongly backed Canada's urban transit sector.

This investment includes two elements; a $400-million Public Transit Fund and a $900-million Public Transit Capital Trust Fund.

Under the Public Transit Fund, agreements have already been signed with nine jurisdictions. Four other agreements are in the works. In the case of the agreements that have been signed, funding is now in the hands of provincial and territorial government. These agreements provide specific details on how much money each municipality will receive, eligible investment categories and how municipalities can get access to these funds.

This Public Transit Fund was modeled to build on the Gas Tax Fund.  As in the case of gas tax, municipalities and transit agencies have a great amount of flexibility to decide on their local priorities. They can use these funds to invest in a wide variety of transit infrastructure. 

Our objective with both funds is simple; to quickly give public transit authorities the money you need to grow.

The $900-million Public Transit Capital Trust is contingent on having a federal budget surplus in excess of $2 billion.  The Trust is meant to support investments in rapid transit, transit buses, intelligent transportation systems and other uses such as high occupancy vehicle and bicycle lanes. All provinces and territories have signed on to the trusts.

These two new funds are in addition to existing "topped up" funds, such as an additional $2 billion to renew the Canada Strategic Infrastructure Fund, and $2.2 billion for a renewal of the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund.

Since they were originally created, these two partnership funds have permitted investments in various urban transit projects, such as the $1-billion Toronto Transit Commission project, the Canada Line in Vancouver, the Light Rail Transit project in Ottawa, York Region Rapid Transit, and GO Transit in Ontario.

Projects like these are good for transit riders and their communities, but they also contribute to a more sustainable environment for all of us.

In Toronto for example, federal funds are being used to help purchase some 300 hybrid buses. These buses are expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 30 per cent.

In Vancouver, the Canada Line, powered largely by "green" electrical energy, is expected to decrease greenhouse gas impacts by up to 14,000 tonnes per year.

And I'm told the GO Transit rail and bus system improvements will increase rider capacity by 40,000 passengers per day - which is the equivalent of a 150 kilometer-long line of cars.

But our financial commitment to urban transit goes further.  Our agreement to share increasing amounts of the federal gas tax revenues will flow substantial sums to other orders of government for needed investment in infrastructure and transportation projects, including urban transit projects.

In fact, in many cases, the share of federal gas tax revenues flowing to communities is being used to make significant new investments in public transit capacity: Toronto $407 million, Vancouver $307 million, Ottawa $125 million - all for transit. In Calgary, a significant portion of its $140 million allocation is set aside for transit, same with Edmonton and its $107 million.

And believe it or not, impressive as the money is, it is not the whole story.

Stimulating demand

We also want to encourage people to get out of their cars and use public transit. That's why we introduced a new tax credit for people who buy monthly or longer duration transit passes. Something this group has been advocating for some time. This means a person who buys an $80 bus pass each month will now save up to $150 in taxes over the year.

As well, federal employees working or living in Ottawa can access OC Transpo's discounted payroll deduction ECO Pass Program.  At last count, we had more than 10,000 new and existing users signed on in 80 federal departments and agencies in the National Capital Region.  In support of our effort to expand access to payroll deduction to other parts of the country, I would like to acknowledge the hard work of the CUTA Transit Pass Taskforce that has been working to develop a set of business rules for payroll deduction programs with the federal government.  This example of cooperation shows the willingness of CUTA and its members to work together to find ways to increase transit ridership.

If you combine our federal tax credit with the savings of a plan like ECO Pass, the net cost of a monthly pass in Ottawa drops from $71.25 to $50.87, a savings of over $20 a month.  That's the kind of savings that will keep transit riders out of their cars even if gas prices fall.

Supporting security

In just a few weeks, on July 7, people around the world will no doubt be reminded by last year's terrorist attacks on the London metro. This sad moment reminds us that rail and transit security is an important national security issue. This is why this Government is moving proactively to address it. The Budget allocated $95 million over the next two years to begin to address this issue and my officials are now at work on the terms of a program to do that.

I understand that the Honorable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada recently discussed security issues with many of you and he shares your concerns in finding a way to properly protect your passengers without sacrificing the openness that has become the hallmark of public transit in Canada.  My office works closely with his in ensuring that your efforts are supported by the federal government.

Providing transit-friendly legislation

One of the benefits of having Transport and Infrastructure together under one portfolio is the ability to make sure that the legislation tabled in Parliament is properly aligned with our financial commitments.  For example, it is not enough to provide financial support to urban rail operators like GO Transit, the West Coast Express or Agence métropolitaine de transport if they in turn are paying extortionate track usage fees to a railway.

On May 4, 2006, I introduced Bill C-11 in the House of Commons which will require that future contracts between publicly-funded commuter rail operators and the railways must be made public.  It will also allow existing contracts to be made public under certain circumstances.  These simple changes will do more for the bottom line of some commuter rail operators than any other single measure.

The Bill also allows transit authorities to acquire abandoned urban rail corridors for public transit, so that transit authorities whose operations cover many municipalities are no longer out of luck if one of the municipalities fails to express an interest in abandoned track.

These changes are small, even technical, but they have a dramatic impact on the operations of urban transit.  More importantly, they highlight the synergy that is possible by making the different arms of a large portfolio work together to support an urban transit agenda.

Conclusion

I learned a long time ago about the value of collaborating with like-minded people to identify common interests and to find solutions to problems.

I know your Association shares this view and that your President, Michael Roschlau practices it in his dealings with us in government.

In fact, it is precisely because I recognize the tremendous commitment of the people in this room that I have come to Saskatoon.  Quite frankly, you're not just my old friends and acquaintances from my days as President of the Association du transport urbain du Québec.  You're consummate dedicated professionals who are working hard night and day to seduce people out of their cars and keep them as riders on your systems.

I hope you'll find strong support in this governments urban transit agenda, but I'll be the first to admit that there is more progress to make.

As the Government addresses priority environmental issues, such as air quality and climate change, it is clear that what we do in transportation will be key to our success.  A good proportion of our urban smog is generated from transportation activity, and about one quarter of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation - and two-thirds of transport related greenhouse gas emissions come from our urban areas.

The bottom line is that we have some real momentum going in the urban transit area in Canada these days. In surfer's terms, we're riding a wave. 

But along with this positive momentum, goes a big responsibility. That responsibility includes an obligation on both you and me to invest our resources wisely and for the broadest possible benefit.

As ever, we will have to set priorities and we will have to work together to meet them.

I look forward to working with you so we can continue to build world-class urban transit systems in Canada.

Thank you.