Monday, April 4, 2005

OTTAWA – Jay Hill, Member of Parliament for Prince George-Peace River and Official Opposition House Leader, made the following statement in the House of Commons today:

“Madam Speaker, I would like to congratulate the city of Prince George for hosting last week’s extremely successful Alaska-Canada Rail Corridor Conference.

Business and community leaders and government representatives from British Columbia, Alaska, Canada and the United States assembled to explore this exciting vision to establish a link between the lower 48 states and Alaska through the province of B.C. and Yukon territory.

Conference attendees welcomed the recent announcement that the Canadian federal government has finally agreed to come on board and join our U.S. counterparts in a feasibility study to determine whether an Alaska-Canada rail line is a practical initiative, in the best interests of both nations.

Once completed, this rail link would open access to the tremendous untapped mineral resources in northern B.C. and Yukon.

Along with the improvement of existing rail lines and redevelopment of the Port of Prince Rupert, the vision of an Alaska-Canada rail line will build upon the reputation of B.C. and western Canada as a critical transportation gateway for all of North America.”

-30-

For more information, please contact:
Jay Hill, M.P. (613) 947-4524 or (250) 787-119