As I said earlier, Greyhound's service in western Canada ended yesterday. Market forces being what they are, the most lucrative routes are sometimes taken up by other companies. They might not offer exactly the same type of service, but the service will cover 80% or 90% of the routes. That means that entire communities, mostly rural ones, including indigenous communities, will be left without service for the remaining 10% to 20% of the routes.
Right now, we have no idea what Transport Canada intends to do to resolve this situation. I consider this an essential service. All communities need the service for reasons of work, health, family travel, and so forth.
In question period yesterday, I was just stunned when the Prime Minister answered me by saying that we “[...] are open to considering avenues toward finding effective solutions [...]”.
We have known for several months now that the service will be ending. When we hear the day after the service ended that we “are open to considering avenues toward finding effective solutions”, that means there is nothing on the table.
I still hope I am wrong, and that is why I would like to hear from the minister so we can discuss this.
My motion is as follows:
Given that public transit is an essential service and that the end date Greyhound announced for its bus services in some Western provinces has arrived, the Committee requests that the Minister of Transport appear before the Committee as soon as possible to share his solutions.