There’s a move by the Ford government to deregulate intercity bus service in the province.
Thunder Bay bus operator Kasper Wabinski tells us he is all for it but wants a national policy on bus transportation to go along with it.
“The only way to do that is to bring people to the table (from) the private industry, and sit down with Transporation Canada and the federal government…to come up with the policy,” says Wabinski.
He suggests without a national policy, deregulation in Ontario would be useless noting, “If Ontario deregulates is Quebec going to deregulate? Does that mean Quebec companies can come into southern Ontario and start competing and undercutting because they’re subsidized?”
Wabinski adds Thunder Bay-Rainy River Liberal MP Marcus Powlowski has agreed to look into the idea of a Canada wide bus transportation policy.
The Thunder Bay business owner would also like the government-subsidized Ontario Northland Transportation to come under the same rules after deregulation so there can be “A level playing field.”
