06 JULY 2006 ­ OTTAWA ­ Further to the announcement earlier this month by Prime Minister Harper, the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, today announced the call for applications for the first round of funding under Transit-Secure, the Government of Canada¹s $80-million passenger rail and urban transit security contribution program.

"Transit-Secure will provide passenger rail and urban transit operators with the funding required to accelerate the implementation of new and enhanced security measures," said Minister Cannon. "In doing so, the new Government of Canada is helping to keep Canadian families and communities safe."

Transit-Secure is one of the $115 million in initial measures announced earlier this month to enhance the security of Canada¹s passenger rail and urban transit operations.

It delivers on part of the $1.4 billion in national security funding that was committed in the recent Budget to protect Canadian families and communities, to secure our borders and to increase emergency preparedness.

Round one of the contribution program will provide financial assistance to enhance security to high-volume commuter rail and public transit operators in six urban areas ‹ Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, the National Capital Region, and Montreal ‹ based on a targeted, risk-management approach.

The first round of funding will support the development of security and response plans and the acquisition of security equipment such as communications, surveillance networks, lighting and access control equipment.

Operators in other communities will be eligible for assistance to carry out security assessments and to develop security plans in future rounds of funding.

Funding will be provided on a cost-shared basis ‹ 75 per cent from the federal government and 25 per cent from the recipient.

Details of the contribution program, including application information and project eligibility criteria, are available at www.tc.gc.ca/vigilance/sep/rail/Contribution_Program/menu.htm. The deadline for applications for this first round is August 15, 2006 and recipients are expected to be announced in September 2006.

A backgrounder on the initial measures for passenger rail and urban transit security is available here.

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Contacts: Huguette Guilhaumon Nicole McNeely
Director of Communications Communications,
Office of the Minister of Transport, Transport Canada, Ottawa
Infrastructure and Communities, Ottawa (613) 993-0055
(613) 991-0700