High Speed – High Priority for Southwestern Ontario
For Immediate Release:
Thursday, October 20, 2011
London: Southwestern Ontario Mayors are speaking up about the long term implications and benefits of high speed rail service to their communities, but that’s just the beginning. Mayors from Chatham, London, Sarnia and Windsor are putting their voices together in response to the latest report concerning high speed rail but they say they have lots of things to talk about.
London’s Mayor Joe Fontana says the idea of a high speed connection from Quebec that ends in Toronto is short sighted. “Millions of Ontarians and billions of business dollars reside west of the GTA, and improving access to this economic pool is critical to supporting the expansion of our economies. We need to take a careful look at the recommendations in the recently released report and then sit down with the feds and province to ensure we correct any imbalance.”
Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley echoed the call for a more prudent look at how the entire region would benefit from the high speed rail connection. He said, “As communities of common interest we have agreed to meet and develop strategies for our region on this issue and others. It’s time we sat down together.”
Randy Hope, Mayor of the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, says he and his counterparts are drawing an accord on major issues and they will invite other area municipalities to join them. He said, “Our challenges overlap on this issue and others. We’re going to put our heads and resources together to make certain the south shores regional economy is recognized and respected. All regions must have equal opportunity for growth.”
Windsor Mayor Eddie Francis added his voice to this collective response, saying “High speed rail is about connecting people to people while reducing the barriers and costs that currently exist. The recent study neglects to consider the 65 million people that live in the Midwest and the real opportunity to provide them a convenient and attractive high speed connection from Chicago to Quebec. We are prepared to work together as municipal leaders to do our part to turn this potential into opportunity for our communities, province and country.”
The Mayors agreed that given the region’s role as a major economic driver in the province it must develop strong, regional based strategies for growth and global connections. It is the way of the future. Details of the initial meeting of the four will be released shortly along with plans for a summit that will include all municipalities in the Southwestern region.
