moved for leave to introduce Bill C-255, an act respecting the commercialization of VIA Rail Canada Inc.
Mr. Speaker, this is a reintroduction of a previously introduced bill dealing with the privatization of VIA Rail.
VIA, as a crown corporation, is subsidized in the amount of about half a million dollars a day, and recently had an injection of over $400 million. The transport minister has admitted that the private sector has indicated a will to run this without subsidy. The bill addresses the fundamental problem that it is wrong for the government to subsidize a business which competes against other private sector transportation sectors.
I hope the government will see the light of day, recognize the error of its ways and support this bill.
(Motions deemed adopted, bill read the first time and printed)