Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to speak virtually this morning.
I am honoured to present a petition that was initially sponsored by former member of Parliament Mike Morrice. The petitioners in the Kitchener-Waterloo region note that they have been promised for more than a decade a daily two-way GO train service between Kitchener and Toronto. This promise has not been realized.
The petitioners are asking the federal government and this Parliament to work with the Government of Ontario to hold Ontario's provincial transit agency to account and deliver on its commitments, and assess the use of federal funding to make such a service available as quickly as possible. It is essential, as the petitioners point out. It is not just a matter of convenience to take a daily two-way train from Kitchener to Toronto. It has an impact on employment and it has a direct impact on access to health care services. It also, of course, impacts climate commitments to provide reliable public transit.
The petitioners ask for the federal government to initiate a comprehensive project completion timeline for the province; report on the results of the assessment, as the federal government has already contributed substantially to the project; and work with the municipal and regional leaders to report to the public a reasonable timeline for completion.