Mr. Speaker, we recognize the seriousness of the issue of reduced intercity bus service in western Canada that has resulted from Greyhound's exit, and we have offered funding to help address this problem. I appreciate greatly the constituents' specific concerns just raised by the member opposite. I encourage her and hope that she will share those stories with the premier of Saskatchewan as well as with the elected Conservative members in her province.
Our government would like to reiterate that it is the responsibility of provincial governments to economically regulate and support intercity bus services as they see fit. In fact, federal money is on the table and the member opposite's provincial Conservative government is refusing to use it to help the people of Saskatchewan.
Saskatchewan need only look to my province, British Columbia, which has already stepped forward and shown its willingness to partner with us to support intercity bus services within the province of British Columbia. Should the Saskatchewan government move to offer funding for a bus service to fill in the gaps left by Greyhound, the federal government will be there to support it.
In terms of the transportation needs of indigenous communities, as part of our October 31 announcement, we announced that we would offer direct support to indigenous communities that would want to launch a new service to meet their community's needs.
It is important to re-emphasize that private sector operators have taken substantial steps to expand their operations in light of Greyhound's exit, including in Saskatchewan. While these companies may not be able to match Greyhound's service capacity overnight, we want to avoid crowding out private sector entrepreneurs who are working hard to expand their businesses and provide services to Canadians.
Finally, we can assure the member that we remain committed to addressing this issue over the long term. We believe that the immediate funding will address the urgency of this issue. However, it is essential to come up with a sustainable, innovative and stable solution that works for an industry that has seen considerable long-term decline.
We look forward to developing a long-term solution. I appreciate the member's willingness and ability to bring the reality and seriousness of this situation to the House.