Rural rail crossing upgrade plan rolls on

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 27/10/2020 (2001 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The federal Liberals aren’t switching tracks on a plan to have farmers and rural municipalities pay millions to upgrade rail crossings, despite invoices coming in during a global pandemic.

“It has already been seven years since those measures were enacted,” Transport Minister Marc Garneau told the Free Press.

“What we’re trying to do is ensure… that the responsibility is shared, to ensure the highest level of safety,” Garneau said, during an unrelated Monday news conference.

The former Harper government passed the Grade Crossings Regulations in 2014, which had Transport Canada start compelling railways and owners of ground-level crossings to install bells, lights or gates based on use and risk.

Farmers and rural municipalities across the Prairies were surprised this spring to receive letters from CP Rail, saying they, not the railway, own the crossings — and thus must pay for upgrades and assume millions of dollars in liabilities.

CP Rail urged recipients to accept responsibility within a month, noting Ottawa wants upgrades done by November 2021.

Manitoba’s largest farm group has urged Garneau to delay the process, because many farmers never thought rail crossings were their property, and are suddenly being asked to pay thousands in annual fees.

“To leave it to the 11th hour is hard to understand,” said Bill Campbell, head of Keystone Agricultural Producers.

“If Garneau is so adamant in stating that this legislation started in 2014, then why wasn’t something done about it prior to the spring of 2020, or when he became minister (in fall 2015).”

The Trudeau government has offered some funding, and noted the Canadian Transportation Agency can determine who’s financially responsible for crossings.

Campbell said KAP is trying to figure out whether farmers can file a joint case to the CTA, instead of having thousands of tribunal cases.

There are roughly 23,000 grade crossings in Canada, and deadly accidents at these sites happen disproportionately in the Prairies, where many lack safety features.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca