Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise again to table a petition with respect to the Algoma Central Railway passenger service. The petitioners are from Richards Landing, Echo Bay, Aweres Township, Prince Township, Goulais River, and Sault Ste. Marie.
The train has not been running for some time, and it has caused a major hardship, especially for businesses and property owners. The annual economic impact has been estimated to be about a $40 million to $50 million loss in northern Ontario, for a mere $2.2 million per year subsidy. Members can see that the impact is quite great.
The petitioners speak about the fact that it is also an issue for first nations in accessing remote regions of their traditional territories. They are calling on the Minister of Transport to put the Algoma Central passenger service back on line, in line with his mandate, which is “To serve the public interest through the promotion of a safe and secure, efficient and environmentally responsible transportation system in Canada”.