Canada’s Masse rolls out “Need for Speed” rail investment campaign

Brian Masse Member of Parliament (Windsor-West) is rolling out the "Need for Speed Campaign," urging Federal government to prioritize rail investment in Canada. Masse has written the Minister of Transport Infrastructure and Communities Denis Lebel advising him to move decisively toward augmenting Canada's rail capacity by investing in higher-speed rail. "Today I am calling on the minister to create a working group of stakeholders along the Windsor to Quebec City corridor from government and the private sector to work to ensure that higher-speed rail investments become a reality and are implemented effectively," he stated. Masse notes that, currently Canada has no higher-speed rail networks, the only G8 country without this capacity. Rail experts, NGOs, elected officials from all levels of government and across party lines have indicated support for significant upgrades to Canada's rail capacity. There is widespread consensus that the Windsor to Quebec City corridor is an ideal route to begin the process of addressing this glaring infrastructure deficit. "Rail investments are critical to our future economic growth. Countries all over the world are investing in rail and the unfortunate reality is that we are lagging behind in an increasingly dramatic way," explained Masse. "Canada is facing an infrastructure deficit, particularly in the context of rail and in an era when the global challenge to attract investment is fierce we must ensure that we are in the best possible position to remain competitive." Going forward, Masse will be galvanizing support for rail investments by engaging elected officials, business and labor and the general public. Further announcement about the "Need for Speed Campaign" will be forthcoming as the push to address Canada's infrastructure needs continues.