News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 02, 2020
A Message to Our Readers
 9.6K     0 
News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 01, 2020
EarthCam Time-Lapse Documents Rafael Viñoly-Designed New Stanford Hospital Construction
 41K     0 
News   GLOBAL  |  Apr 01, 2020
Resort Town
 5.4K     0 

PinkLucy said:
It's a lot of hard work to look for potential billions of dollars https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-covid-wage-benefits-cra/

And a interesting bit from that article
View attachment 452789
Click to expand...
Morneau was REALLY not a politician and, like others appointed to cabinet with virtually no political experience (e.g. Wilson-Raybould and Philpott) failed to understand that decisions must be made with a mixture of financial/social and political angles. One can certainly argue how much of each but you really cannot ignore the political aspect.
 
DSC said:
Morneau was REALLY not a politician and, like others appointed to cabinet with virtually no political experience (e.g. Wilson-Raybould and Philpott) failed to understand that decisions must be made with a mixture of financial/social and political angles. One can certainly argue how much of each but you really cannot ignore the political aspect.
Click to expand...

When Trudeau was first elected, part of his pitch was that he was bringing in an all star cabinet of knowledgeable somewhat apolitical technocrats. To then turn around and complain that these people are too picky about their jobs and not concerned enough about politics is .....
 
Admiral Beez said:
Haiti cannot be fixed. Caribbean countries have but two or three revenue sources; tourism, finance/tax evasion, food/drink exports. No one is going to look to Haiti for the first two, and they can’t feed their own people. The world might be better off if Haiti was depopulated, and its eleven million people dispersed across the globe as UN refugees.
Click to expand...

That’s by design. France, the United Kingdom, Spain, and the United States wanted to make an example of the only completely successful slave rebellion.
 
lenaitch said:
Wow. Like her politics or not, you've got to admire her accomplishment and stamina. Folks with her longevity that were able to be physically and socially active deep into into their 90s is not common.
Click to expand...
She will definitely go down in history as one of the more notable politicians in Ontario. I'm less sure she was a good influence on public policy, especially in her later years.
 
ShonTron said:
wanted to make an example of the only completely successful slave rebellion.
Click to expand...
I thought that was Israel. But the past doesn’t really matter, addressing how Haiti got here is not how the country can be fixed. Let’s say France paid every Haitian reparations, with an Oprah-like moment where everyone gets a hundred grand, or a million $. Now what? The gangs will murder and steal everyone’s money. No, the fix is to erase the country, depopulate and move everyone elsewhere, including some to Canada.

What other possible fix is there? Does the UN send in a standing army for a 20 year, Afghan-like occupation? Do these thousands of UN soldiers then coerce and persuade the locals to partner with global businesses to establish the resort hotels, tax havens and distilleries to fulfil the only use North Americans and Europeans have of the Caribbean islands? Are Canadians going to visit a resort in Port-au-Prince with UN blue helmets rolling past in armoured personnel carriers?

Even Mother Nature wants that place erased, hitting it with earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and disease https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_natural_disasters_in_Haiti. No matter how it got here, that country is cursed. There’s nothing that Trudeau can do to fix it.
 
Last edited:

Government of Canada advances the procurement process for High Frequency Rail​

From link.

High Frequency Rail will transform passenger rail service in Canada through the creation of a faster, more frequent, accessible, and sustainable rail service among the major centres of Québec City, Trois-Rivières, Montréal, Ottawa, Peterborough, and Toronto.

Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced the next steps in the procurement process for High Frequency Rail (HFR) through an update to the Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEOI). This update reflects input and provides answers to key questions received through the RFEOI process. It provides industry and Canadians with new information about the HFR and its procurement.

Feedback from the RFEOI includes:
  • Responses from a total of 54 interested parties, confirming a high level of domestic and international interest in the project.
  • Responses confirming support for the overall approach; seeking clarifications on some elements of the project, including roles and responsibilities of the Government and private partner; and suggesting ways to enhance the design of the procurement process.
  • Recommendations for strategic changes to the procurement timelines, such as shortening the Request for Proposal period.

The next step in the procurement process, the Request for Qualifications (RFQ), is anticipated to begin in early 2023.

Launched in March 2022, the RFEOI marked the first step in the procurement phase and delivering benefits for Canadians. The RFEOI was undertaken to share the Government’s vision for the project and to obtain the market’s feedback on the HFR Project.

The Government of Canada is committed to an ongoing dialogue and building nation-to-nation relationships with Indigenous Peoples. Input and feedback from Indigenous Peoples throughout the life of the project will be essential to developing an effective project.

VIA Rail and its employees are central to the success of High Frequency Rail and will continue to play a key role across Canada as our national passenger rail provider. A subsidiary of VIA Rail is being established to act as a dedicated Project Development Office. It will be responsible for leading several key project activities, and will work collaboratively with the private partner to co-develop and optimize the HFR project. Canada will work with VIA Rail and the private partner to ensure that workforce changes required for the advancement of the HFR project would be done in consultation with unions to protect the interests of VIA rail employees.

Please visit the HFR website for a full list of changes and clarifications to the procurement process, or to get involved in the project by providing feedback, asking questions, and signing up for project updates.
Click to expand...

Quotes​


“High Frequency Rail is a transformational project that promises to fundamentally change the way Canadians travel in southern Ontario and Quebec, improving accessibility, and providing more travel flexibility. We’re pleased with the market’s interest in this project and in the Government obtaining over 50 responses from interested parties. Feedback from these parties was critical in making this project even better and will be used to move the next phase of the project forward – the request for qualifications.”

The Honourable Omar Alghabra
Minister of Transport
Click to expand...

Quick facts​



  • HFR is expected to transform intercity passenger rail in the Corridor through a variety of project outcomes, including, but not limited to:
    • Shortening travel times, with reductions of up to 90 minutes on some routes;
    • Increasing trip frequencies between major cities;
    • Offering more reliable and improved on-time performance;
    • Adding new services to Peterborough and Trois-Rivières; and,
    • Providing a greener rail system and cleaner travel option using electrified technology.

  • As with any large-scale infrastructure project, the Government of Canada is using a phased approach to leverage input collected throughout the procurement process and to inform the next steps and decisions regarding the implementation of the High Frequency Rail Project.

  • Budget 2022 provided Transport Canada and Infrastructure Canada with $396.8 million over two years, starting in 2022-23, to continue advancing key project activities and undertake the procurement phase of the project.

  • The next steps in the High Frequency Rail project and expected dates include:
    • Government of Canada issues Request for Qualifications: early 2023
    • Request for Qualifications period ends: early spring 2023
    • Government of Canada evaluation of Request for Qualifications and identification of Qualified Respondents: Early spring 2023
    • Government of Canada issues Request for Proposals: Late spring 2023
    • Request for Proposals period ends: early spring 2024

  • High Frequency Rail will transform passenger rail services for Canadians in the Toronto to Québec City corridor. In parallel, VIA Rail continues the important work of rebuilding the passenger rail business in Canada following the pandemic.

  • The Government of Canada is committed to engaging the public, including communities currently served by VIA Rail between Toronto and Québec City, and consulting Indigenous Peoples to inform the Project’s design and development. Anyone interested in sharing their views on the project, asking questions, or signing up for project updates is encouraged to visit the HFR website.

  • The Government of Canada is committed to forming meaningful nation-to-nation relationships with Indigenous Peoples through an ongoing dialogue to better understand their priorities and concerns , and how best to engage with them throughout the different phases of the project.

Associated links​


Click to expand...
 

Minister of Transport announces the establishment of the VIA Rail subsidiary to support High Frequency Rail and appoints three founding members to its Board of Directors​

From link.

High Frequency Rail will transform passenger rail service in Canada through the creation of a faster, more frequent, accessible, and sustainable rail service among the major centres of Québec City, Trois-Rivières, Montréal, Ottawa, Peterborough, and Toronto.

Today, the Minister of Transport, the Honourable Omar Alghabra, announced key milestones for the High Frequency Rail project: the establishment of VIA HFR – VIA TGF Inc. (VIA HFR) to manage the development of the new High Frequency Rail project and the appointments of the first three Directors of the Board.

VIA Rail Inc. has incorporated VIA HFR as a new, wholly owned subsidiary and has appointed three founding directors to its Board of Directors: Robert Prichard, Marie-José Nadeau, and Robert Fonberg. Mr. Prichard will serve as Chair and Ms. Nadeau will serve as Vice Chair.

These three founding directors bring a formidable combination of strategic leadership skills and experience from the private and public sectors, with the capability of building a Crown corporation subsidiary able to deliver on an historic transformation of passenger rail service in Canada. They will immediately focus on the recruitment and selection of VIA HFR’s Chief Executive Officer (currently underway) and the recruitment of additional directors to complete the seven-person board.

VIA HFR will operate at arms-length from VIA Rail and will act as a dedicated project office for the High Frequency Rail project. In the near term, the Government of Canada is leading a procurement process to select a private developer partner for the project. Once this partner is selected, VIA HFR will work with the partner to design and develop the new High Frequency Rail project, in close coordination with VIA Rail.


Quotes​


“The incorporation of VIA HFR and its role as a dedicated Project Development Office is an important step in the realization of High Frequency Rail in Canada. I thank VIA Rail for its role in creating VIA HFR and its continued support for the project, and I am pleased that Messrs. Prichard and Fonberg and Ms. Nadeau have agreed to serve as the founding members of the Board of Directors. VIA HFR is now well-positioned to lead the biggest Canadian infrastructure project of the century.”

The Honourable Omar Alghabra
Minister of Transport
Click to expand...

Quick facts​



  • VIA HFR will report to Parliament directly through the Minister of Transport.

  • The head office for VIA HFR will be located in Montréal, with another office in Toronto.

  • Recruitment for the CEO of VIA HFR is underway (more information is available here)

  • Ongoing collaboration between the Government of Canada, VIA Rail, VIA HFR, and the private developer partner is the best approach to promoting innovation, designing better service for travellers, improving risk management, and ultimately delivering a world-class High Frequency Rail system for Canadians.

  • High Frequency Rail could transform intercity passenger rail in the Toronto to Québec City corridor through a variety of project outcomes, including, but not limited to:
    • Shortening average journey times between major cities;
    • Providing more frequent departures between major cities;
    • Offering more reliable and improved on-time performance;
    • Adding new services to Peterborough and Trois- Rivières; and
    • Providing a greener rail system and cleaner travel option using electrified technology.

  • Budget 2022 provided Transport Canada and Infrastructure Canada with $396.8 million over two years, starting in 2022-23, to continue advancing key project activities and undertake the procurement phase of the project.

  • The next steps in the High Frequency Rail procurement process include:
    • Request for Qualifications: January 2023
    • Request for Proposals: Late spring 2023
Click to expand...
 
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top