No. H 051/07
For release April 03, 2007
CALGARY -- The Honourable Jim Prentice, Minister of Indian Affairs and
Northern Development, on behalf of the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of
Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced $86,250 in funding to
enhance transit security in Alberta. The City of Lethbridge will receive $30,000
and the City of Red Deer, $56,250, to carry out risk assessments and to develop security plans.
"This total funding of $86,250 represents an important step towards securing
transit systems province-wide," said Minister Prentice. "The cities of
Lethbridge and Red Deer will now have the means to prepare their transit systems
for potential threats which reinforces the measures already underway in larger
centres."
Under round two of Transit-Secure, the Government of Canada's passenger rail and
urban transit security contribution program, up to $2 million in funding will be
provided to rail and urban transit operators outside Canada's six major urban
areas, as well as inter-city rail and bus companies.
The two-year, $80-million application-based contribution program, launched in
July 2006, is one of the programs included in the $115 million in funding
announced by Prime Minister Harper for Initial Measures to Enhance the Security
of Canada's Passenger Rail and Urban Transit Operations. The program provides
direct assistance to passenger rail and urban transit operators to further
enhance their security measures and to be better equipped to address potential
threats of terrorism.
"Canada's New Government continues to make investments in the security of our
transportation systems," said Minister Cannon. "The funding announced today will
help smaller operators, along with inter-city rail and bus companies, develop
the building blocks that will help them further enhance their systems."
Up to $37 million in funding for round one of this program was announced in
November 2006. The first round was open to operators in the six largest urban
areas in Canada - Montreal, the National Capital Region, Toronto, Edmonton,
Calgary and Vancouver. These operators, along with rail and transit operators
outside the six major urban areas who have not yet received funding, will be
eligible under future rounds of funding
Under the program, funding is provided on a cost-shared basis, with 75 per cent
from the federal government and 25 per cent from the recipient. This funding is
part of $1.4 billion in national security funding committed in Budget 2006 for a
variety of security initiatives that will help protect Canadians and their
communities, including $254 million for transportation security.
Details of the contribution program are available at
www.tc.gc.ca/vigilance/sep/rail/Contribution_Program/menu.htm.
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Contacts:
Natalie Sarafian
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport
Infrastructure and Communities, Ottawa
613-991-0700
Deirdra McCracken
Press Secretary
Office of the Honourable Jim Prentice
Ottawa
819-997-0002
Nicole McNeely
Communications
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-993-0055
Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to news releases and speeches at apps.tc.gc.ca/listserv/ and keep up-to-date on the latest from Transport Canada.
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