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roger1818 said:
Agreed. Also context is key. The full paragraph that says ”no fancy projects” is:

"Waterloo MP Bardish Chagger says the federal government isn't taking on any "fancy projects" during the COVID-19 pandemic and instead is making "strategic investments" to help the economy." (emphasis added)
Click to expand...
Exactly. This could be taken any direction and Chagger probably just wanted an excuse to have her name in the media. You could interpret it any way you want: HFR is a "fancy project" that will be deferred, or HFR isn't a fancy project, it's a practical one that will likely be sold as a bundle of infrastructure and service improvements, especially in outlets where conservatives are more likely to hear about it, than as a brand-new line costing billions, since if HFR starts coming closer to approval, the latter is how it will be portrayed and criticized. The intelligent thing to do as the feds, if you were to try to sell a project like this, would be as the cheaper alternative to HSR.
 
kEiThZ said:
I really fail to see the point of this strawman. Who said it was going to go ahead before the election?
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President and Chief Executive Officer of Via Rail said in that Globe and Mail interview last month (the great one that Allandale25 linked 20 pages ago) that last year they submitted the business case coming out of the $71 million project with the Infrastructure Bank, and that all that's needed is the government to make a decision on next steps. and that the "hope is really that with the upcoming spring budget, we would see clear support for the project". With no election scheduled until October 2023, and unlikely during 2021 with the NDP already announcing that they'll support the government, then surely if there's nothing in the budget, and no other indication from the federal government, that it's dead.

www.theglobeandmail.com

Cynthia Garneau has had a bumpy ride since taking over VIA Rail, but she is still chugging toward her ultimate goal – growth

Chief executive has the difficult task of transforming a money-losing passenger rail company in the midst of a pandemic that has crushed ridership. But the only thing more improbable might be her failure to succeed
www.theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com
 
nfitz said:
President and Chief Executive Officer of Via Rail said in that Globe and Mail interview last month (the great one that Allandale25 linked 20 pages ago) that last year they submitted the business case coming out of the $71 million project with the Infrastructure Bank, and that all that's needed is the government to make a decision on next steps. and that the "hope is really that with the upcoming spring budget, we would see clear support for the project".
Click to expand...

So she didn't say it was going to go ahead before the election. She said she hoped it was in the next budget. Exactly what several of us (including me) have said here.

nfitz said:
With no election scheduled until October 2023, and unlikely during 2021 with the NDP already announcing that they'll support the government, then surely if there's nothing in the budget, and no other indication from the federal government, that it's dead.
Click to expand...

You're quite the mind reader. Budget isn't even out yet and you know what's in it and what the parties will support?
 
kEiThZ said:
So she didn't say it was going to go ahead before the election. She said she hoped it was in the next budget. Exactly what several of us (including me) have said here.
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Good grief - do you really think there's a chance we'll have an election before the budget?

I was tempted to go with budget, but I figured that if I put election, that gave you all an extra year - what with Covid and all ...

There needs to be less black and white, and fussing other exact word usage ...

Though personally, I don't think if it doesn't appear in the next budget that it's dead. I'd give it until early 2022.
 
nfitz said:
President and Chief Executive Officer of Via Rail said in that Globe and Mail interview last month (the great one that Allandale25 linked 20 pages ago) that last year they submitted the business case coming out of the $71 million project with the Infrastructure Bank, and that all that's needed is the government to make a decision on next steps. and that the "hope is really that with the upcoming spring budget, we would see clear support for the project". With no election scheduled until October 2023, and unlikely during 2021 with the NDP already announcing that they'll support the government, then surely if there's nothing in the budget, and no other indication from the federal government, that it's dead.

www.theglobeandmail.com

Cynthia Garneau has had a bumpy ride since taking over VIA Rail, but she is still chugging toward her ultimate goal – growth

Chief executive has the difficult task of transforming a money-losing passenger rail company in the midst of a pandemic that has crushed ridership. But the only thing more improbable might be her failure to succeed
www.theglobeandmail.com www.theglobeandmail.com
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Once again: the project does not need to be named in the budget. The CIB is already funded.
 
Darwinkgo said:
Once again: the project does not need to be named in the budget. The CIB is already funded.
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I suspect it’s more a matter of when they want the political attention. If the budget contained a large infrastructure/stimulus program, they might want it on the list so credit is given. Alternatively, if they are sensitive about the scope of spending, they would bury it elsewhere as a non-government, CIB-driven transaction.

With $70M spent, you can be sure they can’t make it go away. They will have to disclose a decision eventually. But as a matter trapped in the political cycle, it is beginning to look like the container ship in the Suez Canal.....stuck at both ends.

- Paul
 
crs1026 said:
But as a matter trapped in the political cycle, it is beginning to look like the container ship in the Suez Canal.....stuck at both ends.

- Paul
Click to expand...

Paul isn't just a fountain of railway knowledge; he's also a master of the metaphor!
 
nfitz said:
Then why did the VIA president say they were hoping for clear support of HFR in the upcoming budget, and were looking for that?
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Because an efffective CEO who is waiting for higher-ups who are slow to make a key decision about their organization's fate, will choose their comments carefully so that the pressure stays on, while staying on-side of their team?

- Paul
 
roger1818 said:
Do we need to explain the difference between a "hope" and a "need?"
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The question asked was who thinks it's going ahead before the next election. The answer is not only is the VIA CEO looking for it to go ahead before the next election, they are looking for it to go ahead this spring.

I agree it's not totally dead if it doesn't appear in the next budget, given the Covid situation, and that this kind of infrastructure spend announcement might best wait until things are looking brighter, and we aren't in lock down with rising cases. But with no election anticipated until 2022 or later - if there is no announcement (or campaigning on the issue) before the next election date, I think it's dead.
 
nfitz said:
The question asked was who thinks it's going ahead before the next election. The answer is not only is the VIA CEO looking for it to go ahead before the next election, they are looking for it to go ahead this spring.

I agree it's not totally dead if it doesn't appear in the next budget, given the Covid situation, and that this kind of infrastructure spend announcement might best wait until things are looking brighter, and we aren't in lock down with rising cases. But with no election anticipated until 2022 or later - if there is no announcement (or campaigning on the issue) before the next election date, I think it's dead.
Click to expand...

If that is the question you are asking, then I agree. I do have hope that it will be in this budget, but also agree that it isn't a slam dunk. If it isn't in the budget, then I also agree that it isn't dead (there are other paths it could take), but the probability of it receiving funding depends on if we hear anything about it from either cabinet or the CIB in the coming months. An election wouldn't necessarily kill it either, but it could very well do significant damage, depending on how things play out. I do think that if HFR fails, the damage to VIA will be critical and its long term viability will be questionable.
 
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