Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2021-03-09 11:59 [p.4729]
Mr. Speaker, this is my first opportunity to take the floor to express appreciation to the hon. member for Abbotsford for his very good motion that is positive in its focus and one that I will personally support.
To my friend from Skeena—Bulkley Valley, I share his concern about regional air routes and also about affordable ground transportation, particularly in light of the findings of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which found that the proximate cause of their vulnerability and exposure to violence and risk as indigenous women and girls in remote areas of Canada had to do with the lack of affordable ground transportation.
Would he like to comment on that?
Taylor Bachrach (Skeena—Bulkley Valley)
2021-03-09 12:00 [p.4729]
Mr. Speaker, it is something I touched on in my speech. In my former role as a mayor, we worked very hard with the province to put in place inter-community transit service, and we did so at a time when Greyhound still existed. While we gained a small step forward for northern communities along the Highway of Tears, we were left with a huge gap when Greyhound pulled out entirely.
Today I would say that things have never been worse when it comes to the affordability of and access to inter-city regional ground transport. It is something we need to improve upon if we are going to resolve these grave issues of murdered and missing indigenous women.