No. H 050/07
For release April 3, 2007
VANCOUVER -- The Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, and
Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board, on behalf of the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of
Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced $300,000 in funding to enhance transit
security in British Columbia. These funds will provide B.C. Transit with financial assistance to
carry out risk assessments and to develop security plans.
"This total funding of $300,000 represents an important step towards securing transit systems
province-wide," said Minister Strahl. "Preparing for potential threats to our smaller
communities reinforces the measures already underway in larger centres within
British Columbia."
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
Nicole McNeely
Communications
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-993-0055
Conrad Bellehumeur
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Agriculture
and Agri-Food and Minister for the
Canadian Wheat Board, Ottawa
613-759-1059
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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