Three groups requested an independent review about the project’s impacts on ag and rural communities
Three Canadian farm groups are asking the federal government to suspend the Alto rail project.
The presidents of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), and Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) in Quebec wrote to Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon and Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald asking for work on the project to stop until an independent review is conducted.
“Given the irreversible consequences associated with land acquisition and corridor selection, we respectfully request that no further steps be taken to advance the project, including expropriate, route finalization, or construction-related activities, until the independent review has been completed and its findings made public,” the Nov. 6 letter says.
The nearly 1,000 km rail project is designed to connect Toronto and Quebec City by 2043. Taxpayers could contribute up to $113 billion for the project, a Parliamentary Budget Officer report says.
The project also risks taking thousands of acres of farmland out of production.
In May, Alto CEO Martin Imbleau estimated the stretch of track from Montreal to Ottawa could affect hundreds of farmers.
“In there, there are about 30 to 40 per cent farmers – that’s roughly 500 farmers,” he told Radio-Canada at the time.
Additional estimates indicate up to 15,0000 acres of land could be required for the project.
In September, Alto confirmed to CTV News it purchased a property along the route.
As part of an independent review, the farm organizations want four areas examined:
- Alternative routes to minimize impacts on farmers and rural communities
- Whether the proposed $113 billion price tag to taxpayers supports the project’s objectives
- Comparing costs, benefits, and risks of all available passenger rail improvements between Quebec City and Windsor
- Public interest implications for taxpayers, landowners, and future generations in the long term.
The review should include landowners, farm groups, municipalities, and the results should be made public, the groups say.
The number of viable farmland acres is shrinking.
Ontario loses about 319 acres of farmland each day. Quebec loses about 182 acres.
In addition, the federal government’s budget proposed introducing new legislation directly related to the Alto project.
“Legislation will streamline expropriation activities and enable early preconstruction work,” the budget website says.
Dealing with such a limited resource requires careful consideration, the farm groups say.
“Against this backdrop, decisions affecting some of the country's most productive agricultural regions require the highest level of scrutiny and transparency,” the letter says.