What could have been a nasty exchange between the Canadian National Railway and stakeholders of a proposed intermodal terminal in south Milton turned out to be more of an information session about what can be expected in the coming months.
At the Milton Chamber of Commerce’s ‘Breakfast with CN’, held at Granite Ridge Golf Club this morning, the railway company’s vice-president of intermodal, Keith Reardon, presented plans for a 400-acre transportation hub between Britannia Road and Lower Base Line, to an audience of about 100 people.
Among those in attendance were Mayor Gord Krantz, Town staffers, Halton MP and Minister of Transport Lisa Raitt, as well as business leaders and concerned residents.
Reardon’s presentation touched on what CN perceives as the economic, environmental and community benefits of the hub, including job creation, improved transcontinental shipping, less traffic congestion and enhancements CN plans to make to the area’s natural habitat.
After Reardon’s keynote address, Raitt told the Champion, “I’m glad they (CN) made the presentation. The conversation has to happen in terms of concerns about the project.
“It really is about how the community feels about it and how they’re going to work with the town council.”
As Raitt is both the minister of transport and Halton MP, she said she in no way feels like she’s trapped in the middle of a huge quarrel between supporting improvements to transportation infrastructure and the concerns of her constituents.
“I’m in a lucky position,” she said, adding that once the necessary paperwork is submitted by CN, there is nothing she can do to interfere with the process.
Among the slew of paperwork necessary for a $250 million project is the Environmental Assessment (EA), a process used to predict the environmental consequences of the proposal. Sean Finn, CN executive vice-president of corporate services and chief legal officer, said this will be filed on Monday and it could take up to a year before a decision is made.
Finn added, submitting an EA requires all information to be made available for public access and consultation. CN has set up an information centre at 61 James Snow Parkway in Milton for this purpose, set to open Saturday, Mar. 28 at 9 a.m., and is making the information accessible on the website, www.cnmilton.ca.
Mayor Gord Krantz applauded CN for taking these steps, but admitted it’s only one part of a much larger process.
“They haven’t told us (Town) that they will embrace the Provincial process yet,” Krantz told the Champion from his office later in the morning.
This includes filing for a local Official Plan amendment, required when land use designations are changed. Under Sustainable Halton, the official plan that manages population growth throughout the region, the land, originally zoned for agriculture use, was changed to future use in 2009. This included plans for industrial, employment and residential development.
Town CAO Bill Mann told the Champion the Region and Town believe that an official plan amendment is required, but CN has remained non-committal.
Finn argued that the proposed hub already meets zoning requirements, as it will create 1,000 jobs, directly and indirectly, including crane operators, construction workers, administrative staff and truck drivers.
Mann countered, if it were any other developer, they “would still have to adhere to all provincial planning requirements.”
Added Krantz: “They have that superior federal jurisdiction (via the Railway Act) and can do anything they want, wherever they want, however they want. I can’t accuse them of having done that yet though.
“I think at the end of the day, they’re going to listen to everybody first.”
Residents, however, still seem unconvinced, including Rita Post, president of the opposition group Residents Against Intermodal Lines (RAIL). She attended the breakfast and voiced her concerns about environmental impacts, access to roads and traffic congestion.
“It’s just in the wrong area. It needs to be an industrial area. You don’t expect to have an intermodal terminal right behind your bedroom,” she said.
She then called on Raitt to look into what could be done at the federal level to stop the terminal from becoming a reality.
Raitt told the Champion that she’s going to have her office look at what can be done to help clarify for residents any jurisdictional and legislative issues involved in the project.
“I’m very proud of her (Post) for getting up in a large room and putting forward a contrary opinion. We should hear these points of view because we have to build things collaboratively and collectively. No one should get a free ride,” said Raitt.
Rachael can be reached at rwilliams@miltoncanadianchampion.com or on Twitter @MiltonReports.
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