Opposition over Alto’s proposed high speed train project continues to grow. (Alto)
Champlain Township council has taken its stand against the proposed high-speed rail project.
Township council approved its resolution of opposition to the Alto high-speed rail project during its April 23 session. Approval of the final version of the resolution followed after Mayor Normand Riopel asked council to consider one further addition to the draft document.
“That Champlain Township does not agree to giving Alto permission to do environmental or geotechnical studies on municipal land,” said Mayor Riopel.
Earlier this spring Alto began sending out brochures with requests to some landowners in the Eastern Ontario region, asking for permission to do assessment tests on their properties and offering financial compensation if permission is given.
The brochure states that the assessment request does not mean Alto intends to acquire the property or that the final train route will pass by or through the property. Recipients of the requests are asked to contact ALTO at 1-855-888-4421 or permission@altotrain.ca if they have questions.
A number of landowners in the Prescott and Russell region have received the requests, including 10 in the Vankleek Hill area. Three of the properties targeted by the assessment requests are within a couple kilometres of the village. ALTNO, the grassroots organization opposed to the high-speed rail project, has set up a map at www.altno.ca/accessmap marking out properties that ALTO appears interested in for assessment.
Champlain Township council’s resolution states that it “opposes the routing of the Alto high-speed rail project within its municipal boundaries” and demands that the federal government and Alto “suspend advancement of such routes until meaningful consultation and full impact disclosure are completed”.
Council’s resolution also demands that existing transportation corridors, including Highway 401, Route 40 and Route 50 take priority as paths for the final high-speed rail route plan and that Alto and the federal government seek alternative connecting routes “that minimize impacts on rural communities and that the interests, safety, and quality of life of residents remain paramount in all decisions related to this project.”
Copies of the resolution will go to Prime Minister Mark Carney, federal Minister of Transport Steve MacKinnon, AltoPresident and chief executive officer Martin Imbleau, Premier Doug Ford, MP Giovanna Mingarelli, MPP Stephane Sarrazin, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the Rural Ontario Municipal Association, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus, and all member municipalities of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell.
