NDP MP pushes feds for money to replace STC services

We will continue to work with the province of Saskatchewan and deliver the projects that are dear to Saskatchewan’s heart.

A Regina MP wants the federal Liberal government to commit some of the $20.1 billion in transportation infrastructure funding it plans to pay out over the next 11 years to bus service in Saskatchewan.

Erin Weir, the NDP MP for Regina-Lewvan, made the request in question period on Monday, arguing that it’s “unacceptable” for seniors and other people to be left without “needed bus service.”

The request comes six months after the Saskatchewan Party government announced plans to shut down the Saskatchewan Transportation Co., and four months after its final buses pulled into depots across the province.

“The Sask. Party’s elimination of the Saskatchewan Transportation Co. has stranded many seniors, leaving them without transport to medical appointments and family gatherings,” Weir told the House of Commons.

Parliamentary secretary for infrastructure and communities Marc Miller did not respond specifically to Weir’s transit request. Instead he talked generally about the $210 million the government has committed to 153 projects in Saskatchewan since November 2015.

“We will continue to work with the province of Saskatchewan and deliver the projects that are dear to Saskatchewan’s heart,” Miller said.

The Liberal Party of Canada said in its 2017 budget that the $20.1 billion will be allocated using a formula that is 70 per cent based on ridership and 30 per cent based on population.

Weir’s request comes as at least one other group concerned about the loss of STC petitions the government to appoint auditor Judy Ferguson to look into the expected cost of shutting it down.

“We believe the divestment of STC should be halted pending a review by our auditor to investigate the validity of the estimated savings.

“In the meantime, federal funding should be obtained to cover the subsidy,” the group said in a Sept. 18 letter to Premier Brad Wall.