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VIA Rail

Bordercollie said:
The government needs to stay in power until the RFP is awarded.
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Even if the RFP is awarded, the EA will not be complete and that will require approval by the government at that time.

Ford won Ontario by pushing big-ticket transit projects. A federal conservative party looking for a majority will need seats in urban Ontario and Quebec. If the winning bidder promises to kick enough money up to VIA to fully fund their other routes without government subsidy, Conservatives will likely be in favour of continuing the project.
 
I don't see prime missing Pierre supporting this type of project. Why can't the concervatives elect a moderate candidate? Why so fringe?
 
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Bordercollie said:
I don't see prime missing Pierre supporting this type of project. Why can't the concervatives elect a moderate candidate? Why so fringe?
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I don't see Pierre being a majority prime minister without policies friendly to urban Quebec and Ontario. I don't know if this proposal is the right policy, but they'll have to promise something fairly sizable.
 
Bordercollie said:
I don't see prime missing Pierre supporting this type of project. Why can't the concervatives elect a moderate candidate? Why so fringe?
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I'm no fan of PP, but when talking to him about HFR on my doorstep a few years ago (before COVID and him becoming party leader), he claimed to be supportive of investments that would reduce VIA's need for subsidies.
 
roger1818 said:
I'm no fan of PP, but when talking to him about HFR on my doorstep a few years ago (before COVID and him becoming party leader), he claimed to be supportive of investments that would reduce VIA's need for subsidies.
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That could mean a lot of things like getting rid of it all together.
 
I have never been confident in the saleability of the concept of spending billions to eliminate subsidies.

It’s a bit like buying a new car rather than fix the old one - the long term business case for spending the larger amount may be there, but there are many reasons why some will eat the repair cost and hope nothing more breaks.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
I have never been confident in the saleability of the concept of spending billions to eliminate subsidies.

It’s a bit like buying a new car rather than fix the old one - the long term business case for spending the larger amount may be there, but there are many reasons why some will eat the repair cost and hope nothing more breaks.

- Paul
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It's not like the old days where buy equipment and you maintain them. It comes with a maintenance agreement, support and logistics. You may as well be buying a new fighter jet platform.
 
Bordercollie said:
I don't see prime missing Pierre supporting this type of project. Why can't the concervatives elect a moderate candidate? Why so fringe?
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The problem is that he's always attacking the situation, "close the border to migrants, don't compensate the natives for the atrocities that we committed, Justin spent too much money on this or that". Okay sure and do you have a better idea?

Anyways the Concervatives are never one to spend on capital infrastructure. They are fiscally responsible and usually are in favor of balancing the budget at all costs, and are usually not friends with the civil servants. They are also not very people friendly, we saw this with Steven Harper and Mike Harris.

Also considering that to win you need to win Ontario and with Douggie in hot water about the greenbelt and privatization of healthcare, I do not see Ontario Voting Blue anytime soon. So as unpopular Justin is, the NDP don't want an election either. So i think we will see this status quo continue for another year or so.
 
MisterF said:
A common misconception.
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Sorry I mean that they claim to be in terms of policy. Now do those savings result in harm in other ways?
I guess what I'm trying to say is as long as they are in a surplus they have done their job. At what cost? That's debatable.

But again our current situation is different, the pandemic changed everything. I don't think there is single developed nation that is thriving. Everyone is in the red and is hoping to spend their way out of it. Unfortunately that causes inflation, and is making living in most cities unaffordable.

In a city like Toronto rent went up by $500-$1000 almost overnight. If you live in North Bay that might be $250-$500 but in terms of scale it's probably about the same since we have a higher earnings potential.

In the next few years you will see more people travelling longer distances to work in Toronto and a good rail system will be good for everyone. Simply because our roads cannot handle anymore cars. I'm sure if you could commute from Peterborough in one hour and your house price is half it's worth it. But then people who cannot afford to live in Peterborough will commute from Havelock to Peterborough.
 
cplchanb said:
Hopefully this won't detract via from replacing them in the near future... they are still well past their due date and need to be retired
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Well there is a tender out for request for qualifications.

Would be nice to have a heritage train over the Rockies. Don't think that is good use of taxpayer dollars unless it turns a profit.
 
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