The man tasked with leading Canada’s first high-speed railway says he understands why rural residents are concerned for their land, but believes necessary “compromises” will need to be made to complete the “nation-building” project.
Alto CEO Martin Imbleau says he sympathizes with people whose lives and businesses will be disrupted by the construction of the 1,000-kilometre line, but stands by the promised advantages of the rail: faster travel for millions, lower emissions and a projected $24.5-billion lift to GDP.
“It provides a huge benefit for the society and it has local implications. That’s a reality of a linear project,” said Imbleau in an early March interview with the Star. “We cannot miss it. We can’t avoid it.”
In Eastern Ontario, farmers and the Crown corporation behind the Alto high-speed rail project find themselves at odds, struggling to reconcile visions of what a new, major transit line should look like in Canada’s busiest corridor.
Some living along the route worry the line could cost them their land and livelihoods — a sacrifice they’re unwilling to make for a project they say won’t benefit them.
The proposed line would connect Toronto to Quebec City, linking seven urban hubs at speeds of up to 300 km/h across a corridor home to nearly half the country’s population. It carries an estimated $90-billion price tag and could result in the largest wave of expropriations tied to a single project in Canadian history.
On Tuesday, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre called on Prime Minister Mark Carney to cancel the project, calling it a ”$90 billion Liberal boondoggle” that doesn’t make sense. Carney says the line could be crucial for Canada’s growth and his government has tasked its Major Projects Office with working to “accelerate engineering, regulatory, and permitting work” to fast-track the rail line’s construction.
Alto is now three-quarters of the way through an extended 100-day consultation process, with thousands of participants weighing in through open houses, virtual sessions and online feedback. Imbleau said the responses have revealed a familiar tension: some living in communities slated for stations debate the locations of the stations, while others living in towns without stops push to be included.
“It’s very understandable that people are concerned,” Imbleau said. “We don’t have all the answers and we are receiving a lot of feedback (and) suggestions.”
Even so, Imbleau acknowledges the limits of persuasion when it comes to landowners facing the prospect of trains speeding past their properties at more than 300 km/h.
“If it comes on my land and I don’t take the train, it will always be a concern,” he said, adding he’s “not dumb enough” to try to convince landowners that a train blowing along their property at 320 km/h won’t have an impact.
Most communities along the route would sit 75 to 100 kilometres away from the nearest stop — a trade-off Alto says is necessary to preserve speed and efficiency.
Farmers and agricultural federations argue the placement of stations, steep price tag and unprecedented number of potential expropriations are all signs rural landowners are shouldering the hefty costs of a project that is not designed for their benefit.
When previously asked by the Star about how the line will affect rural residents who live hours from stations but feel they shoulder some of the cost, Alto cited the project’s anticipated boost to the national economy, prospective support for local businesses and more.
At the annual general meeting of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) at the end of February in Ottawa, the group adopted a resolution to lobby the federal government to suspend the Alto project to allow for “genuine consultation” with farmers and local communities. Among its other demands: guarantees of continued access to farmland and forests, the construction of wide agricultural crossings and fair compensation for disrupted business operations.
Drew Spoelstra, the president of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA), said farmers along the proposed corridor have consistently told him they don’t see a need for high frequency rail, especially if it would come at the cost of their land and businesses.
“Ultimately, we can’t continue to see farmland lost to other uses,” Spoelstra said. “We need to make sure that we keep as much prime agricultural land available to feed future populations of this country.”
Spoelstra said farmers along the corridor have consistently questioned the need for high-speed rail. While the OFA has engaged with Alto, he described the response so far as “underwhelming” and called for an “agriculture-first” approach.
“We need to make sure that we’re doing the best possible thing for agricultural land, and if that can’t happen, the project shouldn’t go ahead,” Spoelstra said, adding that a temporary suspension of the project would help ensure the project is built in the best way possible.
Still, the appeal of faster travel is not lost on him.
“I travel pretty regularly to Ottawa,” he said. “It might be nice to ride on a high speed train once in a while.”
Others are advocating for a different plan altogether.
Louise Fish, who lives on a 50-acre horse farm in Rideau Lakes with her partner, Christina Sully, has spent weeks writing to politicians at every level of government, urging them to consider reverting the plan back to high-speed rail’s slower cousin, high-frequency rail.
The two women own a property that sits in a region designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, home to a sensitive ecosystem and endangered species.
“We’ve lost a lot of sleep,” Fish said. “There are people all along these routes who are feeling this way.”
In her letters, Fish has been urging politicians to pump the brakes on the project and consider the line’s finances, environmental impact and necessity before breaking ground.
“Speed is of the essence right now but I have no idea why,” she said.
“But I do know, as a retired risk manager and a logistics officer, that planning is essential to getting things right. And if you don’t do it right, you’re going to face all kinds of unintended consequences.”
