Members of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s caucus are questioning the feasibility of Prime Minister Mark Carney’s proposed high-speed rail line, saying “too many questions remain unanswered” about the project.
Eleven eastern Ontario MPPs raised concerns about the federal government’s Alto project in a statement this week, saying Ottawa has not adequately addressed issues raised by farmers, landowners, and municipalities about the proposed high-speed passenger rail service between Toronto and Quebec City.
The MPPs said “meaningful consultation” is key to public confidence in any major infrastructure project.
“If Alto is to proceed, local voices impacted by this project deserve to see their feedback reflected in the project’s planning, route selection, and delivery,” the politicians said in a statement released to the media.
“The federal government must ensure that any potential future rail project minimizes impacts on farmland and is supported by the people affected,” the MPPs added. “We will continue to stand with our municipalities, farmers, landowners, and residents.”
The statement was signed by government House leader and Leeds-Grenville-Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes MPP Steve Clark, Labour Minister and Northumberland-Peterborough South MPP David Piccini, Colleges and Universities Minister and Stormont-Dundas-South Glengarry MPP Nolan Quinn, and eight other MPPs.
There is widespread opposition to Alto in eastern Ontario, where the project would demand large-scale land expropriation for its construction.
Many farmers, municipalities, and landowners have rallied against the project and brought their protests to the steps of Parliament Hill last month.
Alto and Billy Bishop
The statement from the MPPs follows closely on the heels of federal Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon’s dismissal of Ford’s proposal for the Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport last week, which was met with opposition from 87 percent of the 87,000 participants in a public consultation.
MacKinnon said last week that the government would not implement any plans that could encroach upon public spaces, increase noise levels, have considerable environmental consequences, or impede housing construction in Toronto.
The decision brings an end to what has been described as a “handshake deal” between Ford and Carney in which the province provided support to Alto in exchange for the federal government’s approval of an enlarged Billy Bishop airport, where the runways are presently too short for jet aircraft.
Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria said earlier this week that the province will continue its push for an expanded airport and said a full Billy Bishop modernization plan from the Toronto Port Authority will soon be ready.
The transport minister dismissed Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s demand to return recently expropriated lands in and around the Toronto Islands back to the city and also called on Carney to reconsider his decision.
“We urge the federal government to continue to consider that proposal because it’s a proposal that makes sense for people that want to travel through air and have different options,” Sarkaria said during an unrelated July 28 press conference near London. “And it’s also about building big projects. If this is how Prime Minister Carney and his team want to…treat bigger projects, I don’t think you’ll get much built.”
The province introduced and approved a bill in the spring that granted Ontario the authority to assume control over the entire Toronto Islands, but said it would only seize what is essential, despite the wording in the legislation.
The province has also removed the city from a longstanding tripartite agreement that regulates Billy Bishop airport. Ontario has assumed the city’s position in that agreement, joining the federal government and the Toronto Port Authority, which is a federal agency operating at arm’s length.
MacKinnon continued to express optimism during an unrelated July 29 press conference regarding the high-speed rail initiative.
“We will, of course, hope to have the collaboration of the government of Quebec, the government of Ontario,” MacKinnon told reporters.
“I have, personally speaking, a lot of affection for and great collaboration with my counterpart minister Sarkaria and more broadly, the government has extraordinary co-operation on a number of very, very important economic projects with Mr. Ford’s government. That will continue.”
He said Canadians want both levels of government to “roll up our sleeves and work together” to offer a state-of-the-art travel option across the eastern Ontario corridor that will also “keep people working.”
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
