moved for leave to introduce Bill C-284, an act to amend the Canada Transportation Act (discontinued railway lines).
Mr. Speaker, this bill would impose a three year moratorium on the dismantling of railway tracks and any related infrastructure of a railway line that has been discontinued under part III of the Canada Transportation Act.
The object of the bill is to enable potential short line operators to arrange business plans, to do feasibility studies, to negotiate and to be in a position to perhaps operate these abandoned lines. Once the abandoned lines have been dismantled, there is not enough money in the country to put them back together again, so any ongoing operational arrangements must be made before the actual dismantlement is done.
On that basis I propose this bill.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)