MP Bruce Hyer arrived in Ottawa this morning following the successful completion of his Save Maritime Rail tour of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. Hyer’s tour began with a rally at the Halifax train station yesterday morning, and included whistle stops throughout Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Save Maritime Rail tour aimed raise awareness of funding cuts to Canada’s rail system – cuts that could mean the end of passenger rail service in the Maritimes as early as this summer.
At the kick-off rally in Halifax, Hyer was joined by John Percy, Leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia, and in Moncton by David Coon, Leader of the Green Party of New Brunswick. In Miramichi, New Brunswick, Hyer was greeted by the Mayor and all of Council. At each stop along the tour, Hyer and his team had the opportunity to meet with community members, and hear how the VIA Rail service cuts would affect them.
“The response was huge – Over 500 people across the Maritimes showed up to express their anger and disappointment about this government and their Conservative MPs who have stood by as coast-to-coast passenger rail service is put in jeopardy,”said Hyer, Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay-Superior North and Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada. “Passenger rail is vitally important to these small communities that depend on VIA service, and it's a make-or-break issue for folks in the Maritimes. I heard from many who said they would abandon their Conservative MPs in the next election unless their concerns about rail are heard."
Canada has among the lowest level of rail infrastructure investment in the industrialized world, and is currently the only G7 nation lacking a national transportation strategy.
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Nicholas Gall
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