Certainly, thank you.
Mr. Chair and members of the standing committee, on behalf of the City of Kingston, I am pleased to have this opportunity to appear before you to speak to the issue of a proposed high-speed rail line, one that will one day connect the major cities across southern Ontario and Quebec.
Kingston has a prominent place in the history of our country. From 1841 to 1844, Kingston served as the first capital of the united provinces of Upper and Lower Canada. Today the city remains the regional hub for culture, business, and government for over 350,000 citizens in southeastern Ontario and is a national educational and training centre. Kingston is the home community for three post-secondary institutions: Queen's University, St. Lawrence College, and the Royal Military College of Canada, and also hosts many training programs for the Department of National Defence. Canadian Forces Base Kingston is one of our largest employers and is the department's largest base. A number of public sector offices, representing several provincial and federal government ministries, including Corrections Canada institutions and regional offices, are located here.
Kingston is also home to important private sector businesses such as Novelis, Invista, DuPont, and Bombardier, forward-thinking, progressive businesses that contribute to the balanced strength of our local economy and employ a great number of people throughout the region. Individuals who work and serve through these public and private sector businesses and institutions consistently use the existing passenger rail service.
Recent statistics show that Kingston's VIA Rail train station is the fourth busiest station in Ontario in terms of passenger traffic through its doors, and the fifth busiest in Canada. These numbers prove a significant demand is in place for passenger rail service, especially considering Kingston is the twenty-fifth largest census metropolitan area in the country.
In addition to our mobile workforce, Kingston's geographic location makes rail service an important mode of transportation. Kingston is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, at the entrance to the St. Lawrence River, along the 401 corridor. Kingston is located less than two hours by motor vehicle to the south of the nation's capital, just over two hours east of the provincial capital of Toronto, and just over two hours west of Montreal. Our geographic location demonstrates that Kingston is the transportation hub for southeastern Ontario and is thus a busy rail feeder community for those larger municipalities surrounding us.
Many residents, business travellers, military and provincial government personnel, as well as a significant number of tourists prefer the use of rail transportation to travel to and from the city, due to its cost-effectiveness, its convenience, and the fact that it is an environmentally responsible alternative to automobile use. The prospect of the implementation of a high-speed rail service is exciting and, we would submit, is much needed along the Quebec City-Windsor corridor to include Ottawa as well. It is imperative that Kingston remain in consideration as an important stopping point along any proposed future high-speed rail line.
An infrastructure project such as this requires planning and forecasting that goes far beyond the year ahead of us or even the next 20 or 50 years. With the expected continued population growth in the decades to come, a process that is moving away from the large metropolitan centres such as Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa to communities along the 401 corridor, including Kingston, it is important to ensure that future service to accommodate the residential and business growth is in place. With the region's expected growth, Kingston's prominence in the region is projected to become even more pronounced.
Kingston possesses over 20 national historic sites, over 600 historically designated buildings, and as many of you are aware, it is the home of the UNESCO World Heritage sites, the Rideau Canal and Kingston fortifications.
Kingston's historic education and training significance to the region and more broadly to the country, in combination with its geographic location and current status as the fifth busiest train station in Canada, all reflect the need for its inclusion on a high-speed rail line connecting Quebec and Ontario through its major centres. Kingston is a major centre that must be accessible from any future high-speed rail line to better service the people of Canada.
Mr. Chair, the Kingston community recognizes that a significant amount of energy and research time has been invested over the past few decades in the identification and potential implementation of a high-speed rail service connecting Quebec and Ontario urban centres. That being said, the Kingston community urges the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities to work toward identifying and confirming Kingston as a location on any future high-speed rail system.
The City of Kingston is aware of the SNCF report, and we will consider joining that group of cities supporting it, under certain circumstances. It is imperative that the proposed high-speed rail line, currently planned to connect Ottawa and Toronto, come through or come close to Kingston. As it currently appears, the line passes through a large rural and wilderness region of eastern Ontario, one that misses the entire southeastern Ontario urban population, from the Quebec-Ontario border to Toronto. We understand that for a high-speed line to be most effective, the number of stops needs to be kept to a minimum. But adding an important regional stop in or near Kingston would avoid the exclusion of our entire region under the current SNCF report.
A station stop 15 minutes north of Kingston would be a healthy compromise, and one that would encourage Kingston to invest in and expand our use of municipal transit to support access to a high-speed rail station, including connection service to the existing VIA station.
The City of Kingston is also aware of the joint federal-Ontario-Quebec study that is under way, and we are intently interested in its findings.
I encourage the government to consider all options. One of these options must be Bombardier's advice respecting a 401-centred alignment, one that could eventually follow the 407 through the GTA. This model would service the most heavily populated region of Canada.
Would it not be more prudent for the government to aim to transport as many people as possible through the largest site points on a corridor already owned by provincial governments, one that is easily accessible for construction purposes, avoiding the scores of lakes, rivers, and marshes that would have to be acquired and traversed on a more northerly route?
High-speed rail has been discussed on and off for more than 25 years, and little action has been taken. The City of Kingston is encouraged by the new-found study activity, for several reasons. The construction of a high-speed rail line will create numerous new jobs in Quebec and Ontario, it will help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and it will reduce infrastructure spending on our major highways.
The municipality is willing to work in partnership to ensure that local infrastructure and services are in place to complement any future plans that include Kingston.
As a great Kingstonian once said, “In conclusion, I would again implore the House not to let this opportunity pass. It is an opportunity that may never recur. If we do not take advantage of the time, if we show ourselves unequal to the occasion, it may never return, and we shall hereafter bitterly and unavailingly regret having failed to embrace the happy opportunity.” The man who spoke these words was Sir John A. Macdonald. Our first Prime Minister spoke of seizing the moment to plan for a better Canada. Today, Sir John A. Macdonald's home city of Kingston asks to be included in this “happy opportunity”.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.