Getting on Board or Running off the Rails?
The Past, and Some Possible Futures, of Passenger Rail in Canada
November 1, 2013
During the 5th Triennial Convention of Unifor National Council 4000 held October 18 to 20, 2013 at the Westin Edmonton, a new national campaign by Unifor was launched to revitalize Canada's national passenger rail service.
Between the sluggish economy and the fact that the Federal Conservative Government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper has ignored the needs of VIA Rail, it has been challenging and difficult times for our membership and union leadership at VIA. Passenger rail service will never make the profits that a class 1 freight railroad like CN does. As a Crown corporation, our government needs to properly fund VIA for it to remain a viable and affordable public rail passenger service, similar to what you see in European countries.
In 2011-2012, VIA’s operating budget was almost $494 million. Last year, the Harper government announced sweeping changes and cuts to the Federal civil service and Crown corporations, which included VIA Rail. The cuts to VIA last year saw a reduction of more than 18 million dollars out of VIA’s budget operating budget, which prompted the corporation to implement significant service reductions last year all across the country, particularly in Atlantic and Western Canada, and slashing almost 200 CAW positions within both CAW Bargaining Units – Council 4000 and Local 100. These reductions were done under a misleading banner titled: “VIA Rail Modernization Plan”!
Then in February of this year, the Harper government announced an additional reduction to funding for VIA, this time by almost $290 million, which was more than half of what their funding budget was at the start of 2013. This triggered additional job cuts in 2013. VIA’s funding from the Conservative government went from almost $494 million in 2011-2012 to $475,651,000.00 last year, and then cut again to $187,783,000.00 in 2013-2014. How can you expand your business model when you continually cut funding, cut back service and operate only two or three days out of every week?
The corporation says that it is “right-sizing” its services by eliminating long-haul and southwestern corridor services where there was not sufficient demand. In response to VIA's claims of right-sizing, NDP Transport critic Olivia Chow Chow says VIA’s new operating strategy is not a new strategy. "It’s not called right-sizing, it’s called elimination of services", Chow says. “VIA didn’t reduce services because of lower demand — lower demand came because of reduced services.”
The alleged reduced domestic demand comes from the fact that in most parts of the country, VIA Rail no longer provides service, or has reduced service to a couple of days a week. Obviously, if you need to travel on a Wednesday (as an example) and VIA does not offer you the service, you look elsewhere.
Since our union’s last successful campaign in lobbying the Federal Conservatives to invest more into VIA Rail, shamefully they are once again ignoring VIA Rail. Just think of any company being told that their operating budget is going to be cut by more than half, almost $290 million dollars. And what is left to operate from – just under $188 million – VIA has to use money from out of this meager operating budget to fund the shortfall to the VIA Pension Plan, a shortfall that many other company pension plans are also experiencing following the financial crash in 2007/2008.
During the Unifor Council 4000 Convention in Edmonton, Jordan Brennan, who assists Unifor Economist Jim Stanford, gave an excellent presentation on the history and funding of passenger rail service in Canada, going back to the days when CN and CP ran Canada's passenger rail service, and since after creation of VIA Rail Canada as a separate Crown corporation in 1978.
Between the sluggish economy and the fact that the Federal Conservative Government led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper has ignored the needs of VIA Rail, it has been challenging and difficult times for our membership and union leadership at VIA. Passenger rail service will never make the profits that a class 1 freight railroad like CN does. As a Crown corporation, our government needs to properly fund VIA for it to remain a viable and affordable public rail passenger service, similar to what you see in European countries.
In 2011-2012, VIA’s operating budget was almost $494 million. Last year, the Harper government announced sweeping changes and cuts to the Federal civil service and Crown corporations, which included VIA Rail. The cuts to VIA last year saw a reduction of more than 18 million dollars out of VIA’s budget operating budget, which prompted the corporation to implement significant service reductions last year all across the country, particularly in Atlantic and Western Canada, and slashing almost 200 CAW positions within both CAW Bargaining Units – Council 4000 and Local 100. These reductions were done under a misleading banner titled: “VIA Rail Modernization Plan”!
Then in February of this year, the Harper government announced an additional reduction to funding for VIA, this time by almost $290 million, which was more than half of what their funding budget was at the start of 2013. This triggered additional job cuts in 2013. VIA’s funding from the Conservative government went from almost $494 million in 2011-2012 to $475,651,000.00 last year, and then cut again to $187,783,000.00 in 2013-2014. How can you expand your business model when you continually cut funding, cut back service and operate only two or three days out of every week?
The corporation says that it is “right-sizing” its services by eliminating long-haul and southwestern corridor services where there was not sufficient demand. In response to VIA's claims of right-sizing, NDP Transport critic Olivia Chow Chow says VIA’s new operating strategy is not a new strategy. "It’s not called right-sizing, it’s called elimination of services", Chow says. “VIA didn’t reduce services because of lower demand — lower demand came because of reduced services.”
The alleged reduced domestic demand comes from the fact that in most parts of the country, VIA Rail no longer provides service, or has reduced service to a couple of days a week. Obviously, if you need to travel on a Wednesday (as an example) and VIA does not offer you the service, you look elsewhere.
Since our union’s last successful campaign in lobbying the Federal Conservatives to invest more into VIA Rail, shamefully they are once again ignoring VIA Rail. Just think of any company being told that their operating budget is going to be cut by more than half, almost $290 million dollars. And what is left to operate from – just under $188 million – VIA has to use money from out of this meager operating budget to fund the shortfall to the VIA Pension Plan, a shortfall that many other company pension plans are also experiencing following the financial crash in 2007/2008.
During the Unifor Council 4000 Convention in Edmonton, Jordan Brennan, who assists Unifor Economist Jim Stanford, gave an excellent presentation on the history and funding of passenger rail service in Canada, going back to the days when CN and CP ran Canada's passenger rail service, and since after creation of VIA Rail Canada as a separate Crown corporation in 1978.
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The paper, which was presented to convention delegates, guests and observers, compared Canada’s passenger rail funding to other countries. Canada ranks at the bottom. VIA’s current subsidies from the Harper Conservative Government is at the lowest it has ever been, which has resulted in numerous job and service reductions at VIA Rail.
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Canada is at a cross-road when it comes to passenger rail. A choice will have to be made on whether to let a once vibrant public utility continue its decline, and eventually perish altogether. The alternatives are to either keep the firm on life support in its current underfunded state, or more optimistically to revitalize the network through new investments that improve service, win back customers, and generate massive spin-off benefits for the national economy.
More information on the union's new campaign will be forthcoming as the campaign progresses.
More information on the union's new campaign will be forthcoming as the campaign progresses.
