NDP MPPs Catherine Fife (Waterloo) and Laura Mae Lindo (Kitchener Centre) released the following statement in response to news that GO Transit train service to Waterloo will increase by 25 per cent:
"Today, we applaud a partial victory for the people of Waterloo Region. We’ve worked hard with our communities to win enhanced GO service, but the Conservatives’ announcement of just two additional daily trains, one-way, is not good enough.
Waterloo Region has 2,000 vacant jobs in our tech sector waiting for talent. In order to access economic opportunities, the Waterloo Region needs investment in two-way, all-day service to and from Toronto. We need a GO train schedule with more departure times than the 5:40 a.m. option the Ford government has offered.
The two-way, all-day service the NDP has been fighting for would pave the way for job creation for our residents, plus benefits to the environment and less congestion on highway 401.
The Conservative Minister of Transportation wouldn’t provide an exact timeline for when two-way, all-day GO train service to Waterloo will be announced, but said he’s hoping to be back with an announcement within the next 12 to 18 months. We are going to hold him to that.
We’re going to keep working on improving GO Train service because the people of Kitchener and Waterloo deserve better than a 25 per cent transit increase.”