Alto High Speed Rail Project
Moved by C. Kitts Seconded byM. Sutcliffe WHEREAS the proposed Alto High Speed Rail project represents a significant infrastructure initiative that may have substantial impacts on Ottawa communities; and WHEREAS residents, landowners, and agricultural operators have expressed growing concern regarding the potential routing of the project, its possible impacts on homes, businesses, farms, and agricultural lands, as well as frustration with the limited information available regarding route selection, property impacts, and the process by which decisions will ultimately be made, including concerns regarding potential land acquisition, expropriation, and the adequacy of consultation with affected communities; and WHEREAS prolonged uncertainty regarding potential infrastructure projects can create significant hardship for affected residents, landowners, and agricultural operators, underscoring the need for greater clarity regarding how route alternatives are being evaluated and how impacts to communities, farmland, and private property will be avoided or minimized, and contributing to stress, financial risk, and instability for affected residents and farming operations; and WHEREAS the potential loss and fragmentation of prime agricultural land raises serious concerns regarding the viability of farming operations, local food security, and the long-term preservation of Ottawa's rural economy; and WHEREAS the City of Ottawa's Official Plan identifies the preservation of prime agricultural land as a fundamental policy objective and recognizes agricultural lands as a finite and strategic resource that should be protected for future generations; and WHEREAS meaningful public confidence in the project requires transparency, accountability, and meaningful engagement with affected communities throughout the route selection process, including clear evidence of how public input is considered in decision-making; THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council express its concern regarding the ongoing uncertainty facing residents, landowners, and agricultural operators in communities potentially affected by the Alto project and call upon Alto and the Government of Canada to take immediate steps to improve transparency, clarity, fairness, and public communication, and to strengthen public engagement and protection of Ottawa’s communities and agricultural sector throughout the route selection process by: Providing timely, clear, and proactive communication throughout the route selection process, including regular public updates on the status of route evaluation, anticipated project milestones, robust, good-faith opportunities for residents, landowners, and agricultural operators to provide input, and a dedicated point of contact for inquiries, particularly as key decisions approach; Publicly communicating the weighted criteria used to fully evaluate route alternatives, including consideration of impacts on agricultural land, agricultural operations, private property, municipal infrastructure, community connectivity, environmental features, and potential expropriation requirements; Demonstrating how feedback received from residents, landowners, agricultural operators, municipalities, and affected communities has been considered in the evaluation of route alternatives and informing key project decisions, so that residents and landowners are treated as partners—not afterthoughts—in decisions that affect their future; Recognizing that minimizing impacts to prime agricultural land, avoiding the fragmentation of agricultural properties, preserving the viability of agricultural operations, and minimizing impacts to private property, municipal infrastructure, and transportation networks, and maintaining connectivity within established communities and villages should be key objectives of any route ultimately advanced through the City of Ottawa; Treating expropriation as an exceptional measure of last resort, to be avoided wherever possible and only following meaningful engagement with affected landowners; BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT Council direct staff, through ongoing discussions with Alto and federal representatives, to communicate Council's expectation that impacts to agricultural lands, farm operations, private property, municipal infrastructure and established communities and villages be avoided or mitigated, that community connectivity be maintained, and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT a copy of this motion be forwarded to Alto, the Minister of Transport, local Members of Parliament, local Members of Provincial Parliament, and neighbouring municipalities that may be affected by the proposed project.