Feds should be more transparent on Alto high-speed rail plan

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon recently said the proposed $90-billion Alto high-speed rail will "redefine travel among and in between" Canada's largest cities, but MacKinnon and his government are facing some strong headwinds on this nation-building project, and they should be more open about the plan and communicate it better.

The Ontario Federation of Agriculture, the National Farmers Union, and the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario have asked for a pause in the project; grassroots protesters, meanwhile, are against it; and some provincial and federal politicians say there are too many questions that remain unanswered. They're right.

The proposed Alto high-speed 1,000-kilometre rail line, which represents one of the largest infrastructure investments in Canadian history, would connect Toronto to Quebec City, and would include stops in Peterborough, Ont.; Ottawa; Montreal; Laval, and Trois-Rivières, Que. There could be an additional stop in Kingston, Ont.

"A vast majority of residents in Eastern Ontario would be literally minutes away from the rail network broadly or an Alto station," MacKinnon told reporters. "This is a project that Canadians dream of."

Federal governments have been talking about a high-speed train from Quebec City to Toronto for more than 30 years. It is an enviable Canadian project in a modern world. It's also a massive venture, full of all kinds of potential political problems for a government leading the charge. The federal government hopes the Ontario and Quebec governments will support it.

There have been problems with the plan's communications and rollout. Ottawa's City Council wants more transparency from Alto on the impacts to private land. Conservative MP Scott Reid estimates 5,500 farms could be affected by the proposed rail line, the Farmers Forum newspaper reported last week. The United Counties of Prescott-Russell council are refusing to grant Alto access to study county land, so Alto is now using drones. Some 11 Eastern Ontario Progressive Conservative MPPs want more transparency from Alto and want the federal government to make sure that the rail line has a minimal impact on farmland, according to CTV News. Ontario Premier Doug Ford is reportedly now lukewarm on Alto after Prime Minister Mark Carney's government put the kibosh on the Billy Bishop Airport expansion in Toronto.

Bill C-15, the 2025 budget implementation bill, allows the federal government to fast-track the expropriation of land for the project, according to the Farmers Forum newspaper, and Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald told members of the House Agriculture Committee on June 18 that "the decision of the project has been made."

The feds have a plan. They should be more transparent about it because the right communication is key to this massive project—especially if they're looking for strong public support.

The Hill Times