Provinces ducking transit responsibilities, argues Liberal MP [Video]

Public transit agencies and advocates gathering to lobby for federal funding heard Parliament will not be left holding the bag for what the governing Liberals see as a provincial duty. 

Providers are struggling to fill funding gaps so deep they risk cratering service. So far, higher levels of government aren’t responding to their pleas for operating cash. 

“We have worked together hand-in-hand with all levels of government and we’re willing to continue to do that,” Chris Bittle, parliamentary secretary to the minister for housing, infrastructure, and communities, told the assembled group on Wednesday in Ottawa. 

“At the same time, we do have a lot of provincial partners who are shirking their responsibilities under public transit.”

• Federal $30B fund may not be enough to save struggling transit services, critics warn
• Canada’s public transit faces funding crisis unless new revenue streams are found

There are funding problems across the country.

Metro Vancouver’s Translink has warned it could slash half of its service to fill a $600-million structural deficit. Montreal’s Réseau express …