On April 15, 2021, the Halton municipalities and Conservation Halton resumed a 2018 Ontario court case against the proposed Milton CN truck-rail hub to seek CN compliance with laws that protect the health of residents and the environment.
"We are taking immediate action to address the serious concerns of Halton residents with respect to the proposed CN truck-rail hub in Milton,” said Halton Regional Chair Gary Carr. "No proposal should be allowed to go ahead before it complies with our laws."
"CN must be accountable to those who will be most affected by the project, and not just the federal government, which ignored its duty to protect the health of Halton residents when it announced its approval of this project."
The Ontario case follows a January 21 decision by the federal government to allow CN to proceed in the approvals process. The government made this decision without addressing the review panel's conclusion, which is the proposal will likely cause significant adverse effects on human health. Currently, there is no plan to mitigate the adverse health effects.
The panel also concluded that CN's proposed intermodal was likely to cause five other significant effects on air quality, the environment, and farmland. There is no plan to mitigate these adverse effects.
"The federal government has let us down and ignored the expertise of the panel is appointed," said Milton Mayor Gordon Krantz. "Let me assure all Miltonians; we will continue fighting and advocating for you at all levels of government and in the courts."
Since CN announced the intermodal proposal, the community has voiced its opposition. They raised serious concerns about the proposal about adverse effects on air quality and human health, the safety of local travel in the surrounding area, and the site’s proximity to more than 34,000 current and future residents, one hospital, 12 schools, and two long-term care homes.
This Ontario court case is the second court action taken this year by the Halton municipalities.
On Feb. 21, the Halton municipalities and Conservation Halton filed an application with the Federal Court of Canada to review the decisions made by the Federal Cabinet and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change to allow CN’s proposal to proceed without addressing the many serious problems identified by the federal panel.
"While the federal government has given the highest priority to the economic interests of CN, we put our duty to protect the health and safety of residents first," said Oakville Mayor Rob Burton.
"Protecting the environment and safety of our communities remains Conservation Halton’s top priority," said Gerry Smallegange, Conservation Halton board chair. "We stand with our municipal partners and will continue to advocate for the well-being of residents in our watershed."
Halton argues that CN’s proposed truck-rail hub in Milton creates only a small number of jobs and does not provide the kind of investment planned for and approved in Regional Official Plan Amendment 38 (ROPA 38).
Halton argues that the intermodal proposal’s permanent harm to anticipated employment, investment, and municipal finances is also significant, along with serious adverse environmental effects on air quality and human health.
To learn more about the Halton municipalities’ position on the project, visit halton.ca/CN.