In rural Newfoundland, geography makes it quite difficult to walk to conduct daily business. Myself, commute 50 kilometers to work each day. The city of Paris has two million people, but the metropolitan area has nearly 12 million people, which means many commutors. Europeans boast an active lifestyle, with many walkers, bicyclists and commuters by an excellent public transit system.
After arriving in Paris, France, I made sure to purchase my tickets for the Metropolitain as a quick and efficient way to get around several parts of the city.
I question our government, why isn’t Canada investing more into public transit and high speed trains. A high speed train could easily connect Calgary, AB and Edmonton, AB. These two large oil cities of the west have two high traffic airports and a less than three hour drive between the twin cities of just over 1 Million people, a high speed train would be a good investment. Better infrastructure is needed connecting larger urban centers of Canada, such as Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Quebec City. Intercity connections could also be established with corresponding US cities, such as New York, Detroit and Buffalo. In rural Newfoundland, the Trans-Labrador Highway needs continued paving. Quebec continues to complete Route 138, which will link the North Shore to larger urban centers, such as Montreal.
It is time for Quebec’s Ministry of Transport and Newfoundland & Labrador‘s Department of Transportation, Services and Works to work together to ensure that projects are on the same timelines. A fixed link can be established connecting the island portion of the province to Mainland Canada.
The Channel Tunnel (referred to as Chunnel), connects the United Kingdom and France by an undersea rail tunnel which is 50 kilometers in length. It has been operating since 1994. The Strait of Belle Isle distance is 15 km at its narrowest point. It can be done!
This needs to be placed on the political agenda of the government. It is time for our politicians to be fighting for advanced transportation networks. Let’s create a stronger voice for a stronger Canada.
Live Rural NL –
Christopher Mitchelmore
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