MONTREAL — Canada’s largest private-sector union has criticized the latest step in the high-frequency rail project, calling out the selection of two European companies to participate in the Request for Qualifications while also questioning the slow development of the plan.
“The federal government continues to ignore the voice of workers throughout this process,” Lana Payne, president of Unifor, said in a statement last week. “It’s ironic that [Transport Minister Omar Alghabra] selects two foreign state-owned railway companies from Germany and Spain to advance to the final phase of the RFQ process, despite previously claiming that government-owned passenger rail is not a viable solution.”
Transport Canada last week announced the three consortia that will be invited to participate in the Request for Qualifications [see “Timeline for Canada’s high-frequency rail corridor grows longer,” Trains News Wire, July 21, 2023]. One, Cadence, features all Canadian firms. The others, Intercity Rail Developers and QConnexiON Rail Partners, include Spain’s Renfe Operadora and Germany’s Deutsche Bahn, respectively.
Unifor’s release said the opening of the RFP phase indicates the high-frequency rail project “remains largely undefined, with any potential benefits unlikely to materialize for at least 10 years. Despite the Federal Government spending millions of dollars on the process to date, there seems to be little hope of improved passenger rail service for Canadians in the foreseeable future.”
Said Payne, “The Canadian public’s significant contributions, exceeding $1.5 billion, towards VIA Rail corridor improvements cannot be overlooked. Ignoring workers and entering into a privatization deals is reckless and demands a change of course.” The union calls for preserving VIA’s public ownership, arguing that public-private partnership agreements “have historically harmed Canadians, cost more, and result in lower service levels to the public.”
Unifor represents 315,000 in a broad range of areas, including more than 2,000 VIA workers.
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