E-7257: Petition to the Minister of Transport — Canadian Petition Tracker
Canonical URL: https://petitiontracker.ca/petition/e-7257
Track petition E-7257 — "Petition to the Minister of Transport" sponsored by Mark Gerretsen. 362 signatures and counting. See signature growth trends and provincial breakdown on PetitionTracker.ca.
Petition Text
Petition to the Minister of Transport
Whereas:
• the Government of Canada has mandated the High Speed Rail (HSR) project, currently branded as Alto, to develop a new passenger rail corridor between Toronto, Ottawa, Montréal and Québec City, and the proposed plan does not include a stop in Kingston;
• on February 18, Kingston City Council expressed support for the Alto project in principle while affirming that Kingston should be directly served;
• the Kingston Census Metropolitan Area, with over 175,000 residents, is a major regional centre in Eastern Ontario with federal institutions, post-secondary campuses, a strong tourism sector, and a long reliance on passenger rail;
• excluding Kingston would reduce regional transportation equity, limit economic opportunity, and weaken sustainable travel options;
• the proposed southern alignment crosses ecologically sensitive lands, including wetlands and wildlife corridors, raising concerns about habitat fragmentation and long-term environmental impact; and
• an alignment that includes a Kingston stop and shifts the route further south would improve ridership potential and reduce ecological harm.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the Minister of Transport to :
1. Direct the Alto project team to include a Kingston station in the finalized High Speed Rail service plan; and
2. Require the project to adopt a southern alignment that runs further south than the currently proposed route, in order to reduce ecological impacts and better serve Kingston and surrounding communities.