NEWS RELEASE
DOUG DOWNEY, BARRIE-SPRINGWATER-ORO-MEDONTE MPP
ANDREA KHANJIN, BARRIE-INNISFIL MPP
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Many members of our community, including essential and frontline workers rely on public transit to get to and from their jobs. That is why it is vitally important to keep our public transit systems as clean and safe as possible.
Today, Doug Downey, MPP for Barrie - Springwater - Oro-Medonte, and Andrea Khanjin, MPP for Barrie - Innisfil, announced that the province is committed to keeping transit riders and operators safe, while reducing the transmission of COVID-19 by providing Barrie with $96,734 to cover additional cleaning costs of municipal transit systems.
This funding is part of $15 million in provincial support for 110 municipalities across the province towards enhanced transit cleaning as the province gradually reopens.
The Government of Ontario has been working closely with medical experts to keep Ontarians safe. The province is continuing to do so by implementing the recommendations from the recently-released safety guidance for public transit agencies. These recommendations support safe and reliable public transit that will get people moving, reduce congestion and drive economic growth.
“Municipal transit services are vital to families and employees in our local community. As we begin on the road to recovery, these transit services help people get back to work during the reopening of the province,” said Doug Downey. “That is why this funding for enhanced cleaning services on public transit is so important. It helps us support our municipal partners and protect our frontline workers as they continue to keep us safe during the COVID-19 outbreak.”
“Clean and safe transit systems are required help the people of Barrie and Innisfil commute to work, go shopping, or travel to medical appointments,”said MPP Andrea Khanjin. “Our government is continuing to support Ontario’s economic recovery from COVID-19. This investment will help our municipalities with enhanced cleaning to keep transit employees and users safe.”
The municipality of Innisfil will also receive an additional $14,954 in funding through the same program.
Today’s announcement is part of Ontario’s Action Plan: Responding to COVID-19. This $17 billion immediate response provides urgent support to help Ontario businesses, workers, seniors, families, students, Indigenous peoples and communities, and vulnerable populations during COVID-19.
The action plan includes $3.3 billion of additional resources for health care, $3.7 billion to support people and jobs, and it makes available $10 billion for people and businesses through interest and penalty relief measures to improve their cash flow, protecting jobs and household budgets.
Additional Resources
• Learn more about A Framework for Reopening our Province.
• Read the guidance for transit agencies and passengers
• Visit Ontario's website to learn more about how the province continues to protect Ontarians from COVID-19.
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