FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: With Funding Set to Expire March 31st, Coalition Warns Consequences Dire if Feds Don’t Renew “Safe Restart” Transit Money
OTTAWA - The Keep Transit Moving Coalition, a pan-Canadian coalition of transit rider advocacy groups, community organizations and labour unions is calling on the federal government to extend the Safe Restart Agreement that earlier this year gave provinces over $2 billion in emergency operational transit funding. The coalition says that without this emergency funding, the government will put at risk the jobs not only of transit workers but millions of essential workers who rely on transit as their main mode of transportation.
The government is set to release its first budget in two years on April 19th and it will likely include considerable spending on a post-COVID recovery. The majority of Canadians believe that transit should be a key part of that recovery. A poll done by Probe Research last year noted that an overwhelming 78% of Canadians enthusiastically support emergency transit funding.
“The end of the Safe Restart Agreement means an end to stable, emergency funding during this incredibly difficult time,” said Gideon Forman, a transportation policy analyst at the David Suzuki Foundation. “Not only is emergency operational funding incredibly popular among Canadians but it is necessary to ensure a safe and equitable post-COVID recovery.
The government announced earlier this year a transit investment of $14.9 billion over eight years but this funding is for capital projects, leaving a significant shortfall in transit systems’ day-to-day operations. The coalition warns this will lead to massive service reductions and job losses that will have significant negative impacts on the economy.
“If public transit does not receive financial support for transit operations, we will all be affected by interruptions in essential services, increases in traffic congestion and traffic-related air pollution.” said Shelagh Pizey-Allen of TTCriders, a transit rider organization in Toronto.. “Paratransit service for seniors and people with disabilities will also be affected if federal funding is not extended, as well as the functioning of the health care system.”
The new U.S. administration has taken a much more proactive approach than our federal government. Earlier this month, the U.S. government approved an agreement that put $30 billion extra into the coffers of hard hit public transit agencies for their daily operations. Their plan recognizes that any robust and equitable COVID recovery effort must prioritize safe, dependable and affordable public transit.
“Prioritizing public transit is now a key part of climate action in the US and it must be in Canada too,” said John Di Nino, President of ATU Canada. “If this government is serious about climate action, protecting the jobs of transit and essential workers and helping the most marginalized Canadians, they will do the right thing and sit down with provinces and extend the Safe Restart Agreement and give transit agencies across the country the funding they need.”
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For Media Inquiries:
ATU Canada
Sam Hersh
514-867-0799
TTC Riders
Shelagh Pizey-Allen
David Suzuki Foundation
Gideon Forman
(647) 703-5957