Parliament scheduled an emergency debate on the transit strike for Wednesday following a request by local MP Mauril Belanger. Federal Labour Minister Rona Ambrose supported back-to-work legislation, a sudden change of course as she had not intended to intervene in the strike until that point.
However, the city and the union reached a tentative agreement before the debate, effectively ending the strike. City council ratified the deal on Friday and ATU 279 is voting on their ratification Saturday.
O-Train service will likely be the first route to resume, probably as early as Monday. It was regularly maintained and tested during the strike and its small fleet of trainsets can be restored rapidly. A core set of bus routes is not likely to return to service until at least the following week (9th February). However, full capacity may not be restored for 2 or 3 months as bus inspections, maintenance and safety certification are required to bring hundreds of these vehicles back into service.
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Transport 2000 is concerned about the government's plan to buy up to $12 billion worth of securitized auto loans and leases. "The Canadian Secured Credit Facility could be the biggest transportation line item in the budget," said David Jeanes, president of Transport 2000 Canada. The organization suggests the facility include a hedge earmarked for green transportation.
Budget 2009 also provides $44 million over five years to Transport Canada for rail safety initiatives to enhance its regulatory oversight and enforcement capacity, and conduct research and development projects to advance new safety technologies. In addition the budget invests $28 million over five years to enhance the Grade Crossing Improvement Program, which will help save lives by improving safety at public grade crossings across Canada.
Transport 2000 also applauded the allocation of $7.9 million for two aboriginal-owned railways (Keewatin Railway Company in Manitoba and Tshiuetin Rail Transportation in Quebec and Labrador) and plans to improve operations of the Canadian Air Transportation Security Authority, and implementing a new air passenger assessment system and a new security program for air cargo.
Federal, provincial and territorial governments must continue to work with municipalities to ensure that cash-strapped cities and communities can access funds to create new jobs quickly. Municipalities, who are going to invest $15 billion in infrastructure this year, will continue doing their part.
http://www.fcm.ca/en/infrastructure
"This budget commits new support for Canada's infrastructure," says CUTA President and CEO, Michael Roschlau, "but the lack of investments dedicated to public transit will make it a challenge for transit to meet the growing needs of Canadian communities." CUTA has identified 167 fast track transit infrastructure projects from across Canada that would stimulate the local economies of Canadian communities while improving local transit networks.
Catherine Verrall is a vice president of Transport 2000 Western Canada.
"It's very discriminatory against people who, for various reasons, do not have cars," said Verrall. "It's a human rights issue, a civil rights issue." The coalition has distributed petitions across the city, including on campus, in churches, stores, and apartment buildings. Verrall said the coalition will be presenting them to the City of Regina's parks and community services committee at a meeting on Feb. 18, the Leader-Post reported.
http://www.globaltv.com/globaltv/regina/story.html?id=1228210
"M. Jeanes croit que la grève d'OC Transpo aura un impact significatif sur le développement du futur projet de train léger à Ottawa. « Cette ville n'aura plus aucune crédibilité lorsque viendra le temps de demander du financement au fédéral », a-t-il laissé entendre" Le Droit a rapporté.
National Safety Code Standard 9 limits commercial vehicle driving hours to 13 a day. Transport 2000's Canadians for Responsible and Safe Highways argues the safety code standard is unsafe based on the cases made by Public Citizen in the United States. Public Citizen has twice won court cases to reduce America's 11-hour maximum.
"As is common in transit systems in Canada, Ottawa's drivers choose their shifts from lists of assignments drawn up by management. The city has maintained that about 65 drivers drive more than 14 hours daily at least once a week. In addition, the city says some drivers take fewer than six hours of rest in 32 hours to earn extra overtime, and a small number of drivers drive weeks and even months at a time without taking days off," the Citizen reported.
http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/story.html?id=d3a069da-e610-4803-a196-8956c6bea516
"Motorists who use the 407 eastern extension will pay for the highway, freeing up provincial investment dollars for other priorities such as public transit," said Transportation Minister Jim Bradley.
"Les personnes qui emprunteront la voie de prolongement de la 407, l'est de Pickering, paieront pour cette autoroute, ce qui permettra de dégager des fonds provinciaux pour d'autres priorités telles que les transports en commun, a déclaré le ministre des Transports, M. Jim Bradley.
"Earlier this week, Jeanes spent a day switching his activist hats, setting up a Nortel pensioners meeting in Mississauga, delivering Heritage Ottawa newsletters to councillors and attending two transit strike demonstrations, including one organized by the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa.
"In 2001, Tim Lane, a researcher at Transport 2000, observed Jeanes sort through a logistic nightmare to arrange an open-house for the newly approved O-Train at the Museum of Science and Technology. City officials told Jeanes it couldn't be done, considering all the approvals required from several rail authorities and the operators' union. Jeanes sorted it out and thousands flocked to see the city's jewel of the light-rail transit crown on the Labour Day weekend," the Ottawa Sun reported.
"Most people put up their hand and say you can't fight city hall. Well, David likes to fight city hall," says Lane. "He likes to show people that there's a better way," the Sun reported.
http://www.ottawasun.com/News/OttawaAndRegion/2009/01/29/8183441-sun.html
In its ruling yesterday, the board determined the strike poses no "immediate and serious danger to the safety or health of the public," and therefore OC Transpo service fails to meet the criteria to be deemed essential.
David Jeanes, president of Transport 2000, said transit in the city "is absolutely essential.It's essential for the necessities of life, it's essential for employment, it's essential for productivity," said Jeanes. "People have lost their jobs, people's health is jeopardized, students are having their academic studies jeopardized, we've got cases of elderly people having to walk great distances just to live their lives," the Sun reported.
The City of Ottawa and Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 agreed to binding arbitration and ended the dispute on Jan. 29.
The province did not ask for tenders until July, a spokesperson for Quebec Transport Minister Julie Boulet told me yesterday. All three partners agreed in December that one company was best. The terms of the contract, however, will be under discussion at least until February. The contrast between high-speed rail and the Charest government's stock-still performance is appalling. It's time to get rolling," the Gazette's Henry Aubin wrote.
"Canadians know that their standard of living has always depended on prudent investment in public goods. They are the ties that bind us together as an economy and as a people. We need affordable housing, public transit, energy grids, high speed rail and programs to help lift many Canadians - and their kids - out of poverty," Ignatieff said on Jan. 23.