Madam Speaker, I have a petition which has been signed by literally thousands of Manitobans, most of them from northern communities like Churchill.
They are very concerned about the fact that the Canadian National Railway has listed the Sherridon subdivision which serves the communities of Pukatawagan and Lynn Lake as a line to be disposed of in the next three years. They are very concerned that the closure of this line may in turn lead to the closure of the copper and zinc mine in Leaf Rapids and with it the community itself, and will negatively impact the communities of The Pas and Flin Flon through declining mining, smelting and forestry activity.
They are concerned that the closure will eliminate rail passenger service to Pukatawagan forcing the First Nation to obtain all of their transportation services by air, including food and medical supplies.
They are concerned that the closure will remove $75 million to $80 million a year from the economies of Manitoba and Canada.
Therefore, they call upon Parliament to invite the Minister of Transport to use the powers available to him under section 48 of the Canada Transportation Act to enter into an agreement with CN North America for the continued operation of the Sherridon subdivision.