It’s a pleasure to rise today, and it’s very nice to see everyone back at Queen’s Park.

Last week, I was thrilled to have Ontario’s Minister of Transportation in town to announce progress on Highway 7. While he was in Kitchener, the minister confirmed his full commitment to increasing service frequency on the GO line. Transforming the Kitchener line into a two-way, all-day rapid transit line is a massive undertaking.

Metrolinx has been completing upgrades to the Kitchener GO line since taking ownership of the track between Georgetown in your riding, Mr. Speaker, and Kitchener in 2018. Poor track conditions and several crossings have been improved, leading to shorter travel times. Safety signal improvements have made our roads safer and increased train speeds through Guelph. We replaced the Wilson Street bridge so work on a second track between Wellington Street and Silvercreek Parkway could begin. Looking forward, Metrolinx will be clearing areas to build a new set of dedicated rail tracks along a portion of the line.

The minister mentioned that as negotiations with CN continue, our government continues to take steps to increase service. This could include a morning train from Toronto to Kitchener on weekdays or increasing weekend GO train service between Kitchener and Toronto.

We are the only party that will invest in transit in Waterloo region. Let’s get going, Speaker.