County council asks for more info on high-speed train

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By Cecilia Nasmith

Things might have changed with the project to build Canada's first high-speed rail service, in a way that will more significantly affect Northumberland County.

At Wednesday's county council meeting, Councillor John Logel said he had received correspondence at Alnwick-Haldimand Township, saying that – though the route of the train was to be Toronto-to-Peterborough-to-Ottawa – a southern spur of the line was being considered.

Though the consultation period was originally to run through the end of March, Logel added, it has been extended to April 24.

Though the project's projected completion date is so far in the future he may not live to see it, Warden Bob Crate noted, he would like a discussion that would produce a unified position from Northumberland County. To that end, he called for a staff report to be presented at the April 1 meeting of the Economic Development, Tourism and Land Use Planning Committee.

Deputy Warden Mandy Martin thought it was unlikely staff could prepare a useful report on a project that multi-faceted that will be completed that far into the future.
“It's become a political football in an election year, particularly for Kingston and Frontenac, who are lobbying hard for it to come there,” Martin said.

She was especially concerned about potential impacts to the agricultural community.

“The Premier has said he prefers the 401 corridor, as if that's the end-all-and-be-all. But as we who live along the 401 corridor know, that's where the farmland is.”

“We don't expect staff to give us a complete and full report on everything that could happen because of this but, if we get staff to bring forward ideas of what's going to happen, that will give council a chance to discuss it,” Crate said.

“Myself and the CAO (Dan Borowec) are attending the Eastern Ontario Wardens Caucus tomorrow, and I know it's an item there for discussion.”