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In early July, the Canadian government directed virtually all ministers to find ambitious internal savings and reduce program spending by 15% in the next 3 years. This includes VIA Rail.
However, in the case of VIA, we believe that achieving a 15% reduction in the federal subsidy should not be accomplished by service cuts, as they would decimate the operation. Instead, the much better approach is to increase passenger numbers and revenue so that the subsidy is reduced. The two top ways to do this is for the Ministry of Transport to intervene on the two disputes that VIA has with CN – grade crossing restrictions in the corridor and renewal of the Train Service Agreement.
On July 21, 2025 we wrote to Minister Freeland making these points and referring her to our earlier letter of June 6 for more details. Our July letter can be viewed below.