A Milton councillor is calling for a stop to the fight against CN’s intermodal terminal, arguing the lengthy legal battle is futile and has wasted taxpayer money.
“For six years now, I've been telling you and many members of this council that we could not win this fight with CN, and that challenging this project through the courts would be a complete waste of staff time and hard-to-come-by tax dollars, but my concerns were ignored and position rejected,” said Coun. Rick Malboeuf at the Halton regional council meeting Wednesday (Oct. 23).
Malboeuf said that over the years he had publicly supported the legal battle in the name of council solidarity.
“But no more, enough is enough.”
In a memo shared with council members, the Region’s counsel team noted the Federal Court of Appeal’s decision to grant the appeals of CN and the federal government, allowing the project to proceed without further consideration of its impacts on human health by the federal cabinet.
The Region is still reviewing the implications of this decision.
Earlier in the meeting, Malboeuf asked about the legal costs of opposing the project.
Bob Gray, commissioner of corporate services and corporate counsel, said about $30 million had been spent so far. Malboeuf responded, “Are we in a better position now, concerning this terminal, than we were six years ago?”
Replied Gray, “We had a significant finding from the federal review panel. We've had one success in court, where the process that was used by the federal cabinet was questioned. I think this council has done a very good job of putting its best foot forward to ensure that the terminal was opposed in the right way.”
Malboeuf later remarked that the nearly $30 million could have been better spent to improve services and infrastructures. Halton Hills councillor Clark Somerville supported his position, stating: “We’ve had a good fight.”
On what could happen next, Milton Mayor Gord Krantz referenced a ruling from the Ontario Court of Appeal.
“It’s my understanding that the court made it clear in a separate legal challenge that CN is not exempt from local planning regulations, despite having federal project approvals,” Krantz said, requesting staff to provide clarification on the matter.
Gray responded that they would provide a more detailed update to council at a later date.
Previously, Krantz said in a statement to MiltonToday on the Federal Court of Appeal’s ruling that “fighting this proposal is still worth it, when we consider its health impacts, financial impacts and the need to carefully plan our community so that it benefits residents and businesses for decades to come.”
“We cannot put a price on health,” he stated.
Following the discussion, council members were also briefed in a closed session relating to the proposed truck-rail hub.