Farmers and local elected officials in Repentigny, Que., are calling for a proposed high-speed rail project to be scrapped over concerns it could cut through agricultural land and threaten their livelihoods.
Guillaume Alary, a third-generation crop farmer, says he fears the proposed rail line could divide his property and fundamentally change the life his family has built there.
“I’m concerned about my land, my family. I’m concerned about the land and families of my neighbours,” Alary told Global News on Thursday.
Alary owns more than 260 hectares of land, where he grows wheat, corn and soybeans and produces hay. His family’s farming history on the property dates back to his grandfather.
But the farmer says he is now left wondering how much of that land he could lose if the project moves ahead.
“Will I lose half my land? Will I lose my house?”
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Alary said he learned about the project at the beginning of the year but was never consulted. “I’m upset about a project that is not transparent,” he said.
Alto, the federal agency overseeing the project, is proposing a high-speed rail network between Quebec City and Toronto. Much of the proposed route is mapped along agricultural property.
Opposition is also coming from the regional farmers’ union. “Right now what we have to do is stop the project,” said Simon Duval, regional president of the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) in Lanaudière.
Duval said farmers could face significant detours if the rail line divides their properties, potentially hurting their bottom line.
“Half of your land is going to be on the other side. So the detour you’re going to have to do to access the other side is going to totally ruin the financial aspect of it,” he said.
In a statement to Global News, an Alto spokesperson said the agency held consultations earlier this year and received 20,000 comments.
“As the corridor approaches more urbanized areas such as Repentigny, the priority is to identify a route that minimizes impacts on residential neighbourhoods and agricultural lands,” the statement read.
Bloc Québécois MP Patrick Bonin, who represents Repentigny, said he cannot support the project. “There is no proper public consultation and environmental assessment,” Bonin said.
Repentigny city councillor Normand Urbain also raised concerns about how farmers would move equipment between properties if their land were divided by railway tracks.
“Imagine having a train pass right in the middle of your farmland and you have to bring your tractors from one side to the other. You can’t pass over the rails,” Urbain said.
For Alary, the uncertainty surrounding the project has left him worried not only about his farm, but about a way of life passed down through generations.
“(I’d be) losing a piece of my reason to live,” he said.
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Ya NIMBY’s going to NIMBY. Also you know what’s really going to mess up their way of life, climate change. Actually it’s already having an impact and transportation through Canada’s densest region is a major contributor. Imagine getting all worked up about a spot for corn and soy beans, aka cattle/pig feed. And ya, I bet a doubling of the 401 wouldn’t make a peep out of these jackasses
Um, this train will run from Toronto so it also applies to farmers and land owners in Ontario as well. High speed rail cannot have level crossings. The tracks are surrounded by huge fences, nothing can get through, even wildlife. Alto cannot guarantee where the over or under passes will be. They also cannot confirm what roads will be permanently closed – how will that effect emergency vehicles, among other things? What about streams and creeks that will be diverted? How will that effect the wildlife and the water table?
This is because it has to be a straight line. Is it worth the disruption to thousands of people and the abhorrent cost to the taxpayer for a train that will probably rarely be used?
Or is this just a money laundering project?
Ask the LPC how much they care. Considering the area, I’m guessing these folks voted for them.
More whining by NIMBYs. When there is a new highway, they do not make right angle turns in it to go between farms, they make as straight a road or rail line that they can. They do consult the farmers and affected citizens. They do not abandon the project just because a citizen might be inconvenienced. What entitlement.
What environmental impact would a rail line have, that would not be mitigated by bridges or culverts. I am sure the farmers put up fences without environmental impact studies…
This is a good thing. The land owners will be compensated, and many farmers have lands that are not directly connected already. Some even have to drive their machinery to the other side of a stream or river by the nearest bridge.
– Why is any government official backing up this whining? Shame.
…no pipelines…no railways…no highways allowed….but keep sending them equalization payments…..
Sadly this project came into the minds of the gov’t far too late. This rail service could have been done way back when the Hwy 401 was started. Imagine having widened the 401 so much that a rail system could have been running right down its middle from Windsor to Montreal. OOOps.