Residents voice concerns about Alto high-speed rail project at Navan town hall

Jean Saint-Pierre, seen speaking at an April 21 town hall in Navan, is president of the Boisés Est, a woodlot owners' association in Eastern Ontario. He said members of the association have started receiving letters from Alto, and made a presentation outlining his many concerns and questions about the high-speed rail project. Photo by SOPHIA LAPORTE /SPECIAL TO THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

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More than 500 people crowded into the Crosspoint Baptist Church in Navan on the evening of Tuesday, April 21, to share their concerns about the Alto high-speed rail project.

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The high-speed rail line planned to go from Toronto to Quebec City will begin the first leg of construction from Montreal to Ottawa. Online, it currently provides website visitors with an interactive map where they can pinpoint areas of the proposed corridor to provide feedback and considerations about the placement of the rail.

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Dave Bergeron, who owns a farm in Hammond, said one of his neighbours sold property after finding out they’re located in the rail corridor, meaning the train could run nearby.

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“The rail (would) run right by the south end of our property. And our neighbour that backs onto our field, he already has his property up for sale,” Bergeron said. “Because when he moved there, he bought two lots. And now one of his lots is going to be eaten up by this, if that’s where they put it.”

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Bergeron said the rail construction could impact his hay fields and dairy animals.

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“I make hay for my animals and my hay field backs onto there. It’s hard to say because you can never get a proper answer as far as how much easement they’re going to take,” Bergeron said. “You always think it’s going to be more. That’ll eat up probably at least a quarter of my hay field.”

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But beyond the farm, Bergeron, who’s 60, said it could also impact his retirement plans.

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“If I had to sell it to move into a retirement home, that was our plan. Retirement homes now can cost you $8,000 to $10,000 a month,” Bergeron said. “That was our plan. Now our value, the property value of our property, is not what it was a month ago.”

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Cheyanne Ash, who is on the Navan Fair board of directors, said the community is very worried about Alto as members have started receiving letters from the corporation. Some, like Bergeron, are concerned about property values, while others are worried about the risk of expropriation: land being directly taken away to construct the line.

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“This is their livelihood. This is how they pay themselves. They don’t work for somebody,” Ash said. “My neighbour three doors down from me, his house is right (in the corridor). If he gets kicked out, where is his family going to live? He’s a family of seven. He has five kids. Where are they going to go?”

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The proposed corridor for the project currently spans wide swaths of land that could be considered for the line. It will be made narrower in the coming months as Alto takes feedback and recommendations from its first open house and consultation period, which ended on Friday, April 24.

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Some attendees who spoke up came from as far as South Frontenac and Mirabel because their properties fell into the corridor.

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Jean Saint-Pierre, president of Boisés Est, a woodlot owners’ association in eastern Ontario, delivered a thorough presentation on the risks associated with the project and where more clarity is needed.