Josipa Petrunic

Renew CUTRIC's role as the Preferred Non Profit Provider of Planning Services under the Canada Public Transit Fund to provide feasibility studies and empirical analysis for transit agencies across Canada to advance their fleet decarbonizations. Launch Canadian Cybersecurity Innovation Initiative for Rail and Transit (CCIIRT) with funding of $50 million over eight years. The increasing digitalization of our transit systems offers numerous benefits to passengers and freight alike but it also presents growing cybersecurity risks which pose threats to transportation and national security. The CCIIRT addresses gaps in Canada's rail and transit cybersecurity by establishing a federal regulatory framework with mandatory compliance guidelines for transit operators and vendors. Establishing the need for the heavy duty transit manufacturing sector to have a seat at the table in Canada-US trade negotiations so that any renegotiation of CUSMA (Canada-US-Mexico Agreement) recognizes the jobs-at-risk within the Canadian manufacturing landscape. Positioning Canada’s North American-leading transit manufacturing sector (bus, coach, shuttle, rail and public mobility) at the heart of industrial policy mechanisms as part of the Canadian job growth strategy to benefit from support to manufacturing that other sectors and verticals will benefit from. Advocating to maintain and grow the Canada Public Transit Fund (CPTF) to at least $5 billion per year as part of Prime Minister Carney’s initiative to Build a Stronger Canada and based on key performance indicators associated with the Zero Emissions Transit Fund (ZETF). The Government of Canada must launch the development of a robust Canadian Transportation Innovation & Industrial Development Strategy. The Strategy would require a “hub” marriage between Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC), Innovation, Science and Industry and Environment Canada, and Transport Canada on the transportation innovation file. The Strategy should be launched with a federal Task Force with the support of Members of Parliament, mobility manufacturers, integrators, fleets/transit systems, and alternative fuel providers to generate programming aimed at future low-carbon smart mobility infrastructure integration, innovation and technological advancement in transportation. Recognize that the transition to zero-emissions transportation, including battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell electric transit, coach and rail systems, will require an energy “systems overhaul of entire fleets and infrastructural systems, meaning that incentives and funding programs designed and launched by Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), Housing, Infrastructure and Communities Canada (HICC), Environment, Climate Change Canada and/or Transport Canada will need to support coordinated energy systems integration efforts (i.e. both vehicle and fuelling ends of the equation) with consortia of partners to be effective, immediate and long-term from an economic sustainability standpoint. 1) Recognize that fleet adoption – specifically heavy duty vehicle fleet adoption in the public sector, including bus, coach and rail systems – offers more immediate and substantial emissions reductions opportunities for taxpayers compared to individual passenger car incentives over the next four year period. To present the Foreign Affairs, Commerce & Trade (FACT) Task Force, a multi-stakeholder working group established by the Canadian Urban Transit Research & Innovation Consortium (CUTRIC). Its purpose is to support Canada's transit manufacturing sector in navigating international trade challenges, particularly in light of recently imposed U.S. tariffs and anticipated Canadian countermeasures. The Task Force serves as a forum for manufacturers, suppliers, transit agencies, labour representatives, and academic experts to share insights, assess risks, and collaboratively develop policy recommendations. Its objective is to mitigate