Today, the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and Communities, joined Andy Fillmore, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Infrastructure and Communities and Member of Parliament for Halifax, Pam Damoff, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Indigenous Services and Member of Parliament for Oakville North—Burlington, James Maloney, Member of Parliament, Etobicoke—Lakeshore, Ontario, Denzil Minnan-Wong, Deputy Mayor for the City of Toronto and City Councillor for Ward 16, Don Valley East and Anders Swanson, Chair, Vélo Canada Bikes, Liz Scanlon, Director, Health Policy and Systems at Heart & Stroke and Nancy Lea Smith, Director for The Centre for Active Transportation, to release Canada’s first National Active Transportation Strategy and to launch the Active Transportation Fund, which will invest $400 million over five years to help build new and expanded networks of pathways, bike lanes, trails and pedestrian bridges and undertake planning studies. This new Fund is part of an eight-year, $14.9-billion public transit investment to support communities as they build vibrant neighbourhoods where people can safely live, work, and play. …
“Over the past 16 months, in response to the global pandemic, cities around the world have moved quickly to temporarily provide more safe space for the record numbers of people walking and cycling. To move beyond rapid response, Canadian municipalities critically need to build permanent safe active transportation infrastructure. The stable long-term support for active transportation announced by the Government of Canada today is an important first step to ensure that Canadians of all ages and abilities have the infrastructure they need to reach their destinations safely, actively and sustainably.”
Nancy Smith Lea, Director, The Centre for Active Transportation, Clean Air Partnership
Read the full announcement: Government of Canada announces the country’s first-ever federal strategy and fund dedicated to building active transportation trails and pathways