QUESTION PERIOD — Ministry of Transport
High-Frequency Rail Service
October 27, 2022
Welcome, minister.
It is important, so I would like to further discuss high-frequency rail, or HFR, and the government’s commitment to building a new eco-friendly transportation infrastructure project between Toronto and Quebec City.
As I understand it, the latest development in that project was a request for expressions of interest in March 2022 to seek feedback from interested parties on the design, build, finance, operation and maintenance of the project. More specifically, can you provide us with an update on the information you have collected so far and how that information is being leveraged to inform the next steps of the procurement process?
Additionally, the government thinks HFR could be fully operational in the early 2030s. Have you encountered, or do you expect to encounter, any delays? Do you think it will cost $12 billion to build, or have inflation and labour shortages affected your estimates?
Senator, thank you for that question and for giving me yet another opportunity to talk about how important this project is for Canadians and our government.
As for your question on the expression of interest, today, in fact, Transport Canada was supposed to release, and it hopefully did release, a summary of the information and the lessons collected from interested private-sector partners. That information will inform the next step of the request for quote — RFQ — which we hope will be issued in the coming months. So the plan continues as expected.
I continue to hope and plan that the project will be operational in the early 2030s.
The one thing I will refrain from doing is putting a dollar figure on it, only because there are still a lot of variables that have not been settled yet, based on the contractors and the discussions we’re having with municipalities and with Indigenous communities.
So I’m unable to give you a dollar figure, but the commitment is that this project will proceed. Today, we would have released the summary of the input we received from private partners, and we would be happy to share it with you, senator.
Welcome to the Senate, minister. This anticipated Quebec City-Toronto high-frequency rail project has been in the news. You announced it on the train that I take regularly, so I’m pleased to see that this project is finally being started. I hope that it will be completed before I retire so I have the opportunity to take it.
In any event, minister, have you planned for the participation of provincial and municipal authorities in this massive project? All the route changes required for a rail system that is more frequent, efficient and attractive than travel by automobile or plane must be coordinated.
Thank you for your question, senator.
Indeed, this is going to be a massive and complicated project that will need to involve provincial governments, municipal governments and Indigenous communities. For example, we’ll have to negotiate with municipalities about access to their downtown cores for the trains to stop there.
So there is still a lot of work that needs to happen. It is going to be complicated, as large projects of this scope tend to be. However, it is exciting to be involved in this work, because for decades, Canadians have heard governments talk about it; now, they’re seeing work being done.
Unfortunately, it takes time, because of everything involved in such a project. There is no magic button to push where we’ll find that such a project has materialized in front of us tomorrow. Like you, I hope I can use it before I retire, but we’re going to follow the process and we’re going to make sure that it is built, senator.
