E161 Mike Morrice Commuter Trains and Wellness
Let’s Be Well Together Podcast - Episode 161
Date: February 25, 2025
Participants: John Webster, Sheila Webster and Elise Seifert.
Guest: Mike Morrice - Canadian Member of Parliament
Start Times and Segments:
[0:00:17] What’s On Your Mind: We talk about some financial wellness ideas. Financial / economic wellness is very important to our wellbeing. It’s a good idea to learn how things work.
[0:11:07] Expanding Minds Interview: [Environmental Wellness] We’re joined by Canadian Member of Parliament Mike Morris, who’s working to get 2-way all-day GO train service between Kitchener-Waterloo and Toronto. We can build more lanes on a busy highway like the 401, but that doesn’t solve the congestion issue. There are many advantages to train versus car travel on a busy highway. GO train travel is less stressful, cheaper and more reliable timing wise. In Ontario, vehicle emissions are the largest emissions source. In order to reduce emissions and to see the Go train adoption rates increase, we need to build transit in a way where more people will make the choice to use it. They need to see that it’s cheaper, more convenient, and more enjoyable.
[0:28:22] Move That Body: When it comes to healthy habits, boring is cool. Elise found a list of “boring” things we can do that work wonders.
Quotes and Take-Aways:
Mike – We learned over the years that you can build more lanes on a busy highway like the 401, but that doesn’t solve the congestion issue.
Mike – Canada is the only G7 country that hasn’t built high-speed rail. We haven’t even been very good at connecting passenger rail that is slower.
Mike – There’s a car-centric mentality among our elected leaders. It’s something we need to push back against if we want to get projects done.
Mike – Taking your own car is the highest impact option, assuming it’s an internal combustion engine. GO train travel is lower impact on the environment, it’s cheaper, it’s more convenient, it’s more accessible and it’s more reliable.
Mike – In our country, we need to get transit projects completed so that GO train users have better options. We need to make it easier for folks to make the choice of going from two cars to one, or maybe even to no car at all.
Mike – There is a productivity loss from long delays on vehicle travel on busy highways.
Mike – In Ontario, vehicle emissions are the largest emissions source. In order to reduce emissions and to see the Go train adoption rates increase, we need to build transit in a way where more people will make the choice to use it. They need to see that it’s cheaper for them, or more convenient, or they can watch a movie while they’re travelling to Toronto. We need to see these improvements made so that far more people make what would be an obvious choice.
Guest Information: Member of Parliament of Canada Mike Morrice is inspired by the great things people can accomplish when we genuinely listen to one another, look to find common ground, and prioritize future generations. Before being elected, Mike founded Sustainable Waterloo Region co-created ClimateActionWR, piloted Canada’s first Green Economy Hub, later founded Green Economy Canada to share this work across the country. Mike was the first Green Party of Canada candidate to be elected in Ontario. Since his election in 2021, Mike uses his platform to amplify his community’s concerns.
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Thanks for joining us,
(-(-_(-_-)_-)-) Your wellness check-in team
John, Sammy, Cameron, Sheila, Elise, Isabelle, Noura, Julie and Riley