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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.

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Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2021-01-28 15:11 [p.3721]

Mr. Speaker, despite huge levels of effort from the government and billions of dollars spent, some sectors of our economy are still falling between the cracks.
The situation right now for the commercial bus lines, the coach bus sector, such as Wilson’s Transportation here on Vancouver Island or Maritime Bus in the maritime communities, is that this entire part of our transportation infrastructure is imminently at risk of going under. This is an integral part of our tourism sector, and it is integral in reducing greenhouse gases and serving remote first nations.

We have to have one of two things, either money has to be provided to the sector or the big banks have to back off. What can be done?

Hon. Omar Alghabra (Mississauga Centre)
2021-01-28 15:11 [p.3721]

Mr. Speaker, the hon. member is right, the inner-city passenger bus service industry has been hit very hard by the pandemic.

As the member mentioned, our government has provided a lot of financial support for businesses that have been impacted by COVID. The member knows that the inner-city bus service is regulated by the province. I also acknowledge that it is important to our cities and provinces, therefore, we will continue to monitor the situation. I am happy to work with the member on ideas we can work together on.

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Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2021-01-26 13:12 [p.3529]
Mr. Speaker, I am very concerned, and I am sure the member is too, about the ongoing financial peril in which a number of regional ground transportation companies find themselves.

The member is probably aware that the current president of the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council, Judith Sayers, has called for protection for Wilson’s bus lines. It provides service to a number of remote first nations communities on Vancouver Island. It is being threatened with bankruptcy by the large commercial banks. No government program is helping it. This morning’s announcement from the Prime Minister about more details for the highly affected sectors program will not assist either because it caps new loans at $1 million.

I wonder if the hon. member for North Island—Powell River has any comments on what we could do about these very profitable banks that have lost some profit but remain profitable and their willingness to push out of business other businesses that are essential for recovery.

Rachel Blaney (North Island—Powell River)
2021-01-26 13:13 [p.3529]

Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the member. It is good to say hello from the northern part of Vancouver Island.

I could not agree more. There are a lot of rural, remote and indigenous communities in my riding that need accessible transportation. This has been an ongoing challenge. As we look at a recovery, making sure people can get to their appointments and get out of their communities for opportunities, health and many other concerns is pivotal, so I hope to see some support for this.

I appreciate the work that big banks do, but they certainly have enough profit. Let us make sure to focus on these really important supports for local communities.

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Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
2021-01-26 17:27 [p.3569]

Madam Speaker, I have to say to my friend from Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo that we have a blind date tonight. We are featured in the TVO show that is coming up tonight.
In any case, my question is about whether she shares my concern that in this pandemic we are seeing too many really important small businesses that play a big role in our transportation and tourism infrastructure being pushed into facing bankruptcy. No government program is yet helping them. The coach bus line services across Canada are calling out for help, and they are not getting it. In my area here on Vancouver Island, it is Wilson’ s bus lines, but we are talking coast to coast, including all the way to Maritime Bus in the Maritimes.
I wonder if my hon. colleague has any comments on that.

Cathy McLeod (Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo)
2021-01-26 17:28 [p.3569]

Madam Speaker, this is a wider issue than just the pandemic and what has happened with the pandemic. We know that when Greyhound stopped its service, the government at the time said that it was going to give it a couple of years and that it would help with routes where Greyhound was going to be challenged.

Certainly in the riding I represent, the ability for people to come down the North Thompson Valley is not there. That was a route that was never even adapted to in the new model. We had a problem before the pandemic. I know that here flights out of the airport are almost nil, and of course we do not have an adequate service. People who need to get to Vancouver for cancer treatments and people who need to go to other places for essential services are completely stymied, and the pandemic has made it much worse.

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OTTAWA – The Green Party of Canada is deeply concerned about ongoing cuts in Canada’s transportation sector that are creating havoc for communities and regions across the country and leaving Canadians with seriously diminished travel options.

“Across Canada ground transportation is in crisis,” said Green parliamentary leader Elizabeth May (MP, Saanich-Gulf Islands). “VIA Rail is suspended and struggling due to COVID, regular intercity bus service disappeared for much of the country years before COVID. Many communities and the tourism sector depend on coach bus companies like Maritime Bus and Wilson’s on Vancouver Island. We call on governments both federally and provincially to make it clear to the banks, that as they continue to make exorbitant profits, we expect them to do their part for our economy and our communities.”

Air Canada began cutting routes to Sydney, N.S. in December 2020, and by mid-January cut flight routes to Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Rupert and Kamloops in B.C., Fredericton and Saint John, N.B. and Yellowknife, N.W.T.

“The fact that airlines are offering vacation destinations while cutting essential services to east and west coast communities is troubling,” said Green MP Jenica Atwin (Fredericton). “Their priorities are flawed. Regional routes are crucial, and need to be maintained. I understand that the pandemic has had a severe impact on airline revenue, but something must be done to safeguard these routes.”

“Air Canada does not just move passengers, it also moves a lot of critical cargo including medical supplies to regional airports,” said Paul Manly (MP, Nanaimo-Ladysmith). “Services are being cut all across the north as well as in the Maritimes, leaving these communities essentially without fundamental service.”

Since the beginning of the pandemic, rail and bus routes have also endured significant cutbacks. Greyhound Canada completely suspended all routes in May 2020, leaving many Canadians in remote communities with few transportation alternatives. In October, Via Rail suspended service to the Maritimes indefinitely and has reduced service in other regional corridors.

“Maritime Bus has announced cutting services across the region impacting the ability of Maritimers to remain connected to one another and to the rest of the country,” said Atwin. “These services are at risk of permanent collapse without immediate federal assistance.”

Mr. Manly observed that cutting vital transportation routes is dangerous for women, particularly Indigenous women. “We must never forget the horrific tragedies that occurred on the ‘Highway of Tears’,” he said. “That 725 kilometre corridor of Highway 16 between Prince George and Prince Rupert was where so many Indigenous women were murdered or disappeared. Lack of public transportation infrastructure in that region left these women vulnerable.”

“People in rural areas are being left stranded,” concluded Ms. May. “We simply cannot leave Canadians living in remote communities without access to safe, reliable transportation.”

# # #

For more information or to arrange an interview:

Rosie Emery

Press Secretary

613-562-4916×206

rosie.emery@greenparty.ca

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Ms. Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands, GP): Mr. Speaker, the speech was for him a while ago because he began it before question period began. I want to pause to say how very nice it is to see all of us friends gathered together even if only by Zoom.

I was taken by the hon. member’s comments on the impacts of the Spanish flu and how long those impacts stayed with society. On a personal point, my namesake, Elizabeth Evans Stephens, was a victim of the Spanish flu and I can say that the intergenerational impacts of losing a young mother not only affected by grandmother, but my mother. This is a pandemic, the likes of which we have not seen for generations, and its effects will be intergenerational.

My very strong support for the hon. member’s speech is to his points on the banking industry, with its extraordinary levels of profits, over $30 billion in profits through the pandemic, and yet this very industry is leaning on small business. In my area, Wilson’s bus lines is at risk of going under because the government programs that are on offer do not really meet their needs. Bus companies and other companies across Canada are at risk because these banks that have been raking in profits and have had government help seem to think they are not Canadian. They do not think they are part of our national effort to save businesses and jobs.

I wonder if my hon. colleague has any comments on what the government should be doing to ensure that the banks do not push good, essential companies like Wilson’s bus lines into bankruptcy.

Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby)
2021-01-25 15:53 [p.3430]

Mr. Speaker, this is what is inconceivable to me. There was $750 billion given in liquidity support to the Canadian banking industry without any conditions whatsoever. We saw credit unions stepping up and lowering their interest rates to zero. We saw credit unions stepping up and providing in some cases what was required around suspending the payment of mortgages and not imposing penalties. The banking industry did not have any conditions at all imposed, and the result has been windfall profits of $30 billion and real pressure on businesses like Wilson’s and others across the country.
We need to take the best practices of other countries. Other countries said that if they were providing supports, there were going to be conditions. The Canadian government stepped up within days of the pandemic hitting, and its first thought was to help the banking industry. Three-quarters of $1 trillion later, the banking industry is reaping massive profits and so many Canadians and small businesses are struggling.

Of course, with COVID, we know that the implications and the consequences will last for more than a decade. For lower-income families, the reality is the fall economic statement talks about cutbacks starting in the next fiscal year. There will be dramatic cutbacks over the next 13 months. We need the government to rethink its approach and we are willing to work with it—

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