Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon defended his government’s efforts to accelerate the high-speed rail project this week as opposition MPs criticized the proposed changes to expropriation rules and the consultation process. 

“It’s interesting to me that many of the debates that we have in the House of Commons are about how we accelerate projects,” he sighed. 

“And many of the debates we’re having [in this House committee] are about how we can remove the means to accelerate.”

The House finance committee is studying the Budget 2025 Implementation Act, which includes changes to the Expropriation Act to make it easier to buy up properties along the proposed corridor by removing the right to hearings and prohibiting work on designated land.

The goal is to avoid delays that could ultimately lead to project cost overruns. 

Conservative MP Sandra Cobena asked McKinnon why the government was giving itself powers to create regulatory exemptions for the project.

“This is the law that we both voted for,” he replied. 

“It’s C-5, the Building Canada Act. (…) This is specifically designed at accelerating the progress and the ability to move, plan, contemplate and build large projects.” 

Alto’s high-speed rail project was referred to the Major Projects Office in September as a ‘transformative strategy’ that needed more work.

Bloc Québécois MP Jean-Denis Garon expressed concerns that efforts to fast-track would erode transparency. 

He said several of his constituents have had negative experiences with aggressive and poorly planned federal expropriation processes in the past, citing the 1969 Mirabel Airport that evicted 1,700 families as an example. 

High-speed rail proponent Alto recently shared Mirabel was being considered for the proposed route. 

“The mayor of Mirabel learned this from me,” said Garon. “And some people learned it from my Facebook page.” 

He called on the federal government to share information in a more timely way. 

Bloc Québécois chief Yves-François Blanchet also took shots at the high-speed project in comments to reporters on Tuesday, saying the short consultation period is problematic.

“Time must be given for people to prepare briefs, articulate their thoughts, especially since some are newly elected municipal officials entering into something completely new. And environmental concerns, obviously.” 

He called on “the government to undertake an examination of conscience” regarding their desire to “bulldoze democracy under the pretext of moving projects forward.” 

Alto is currently conducting a three-month public consultation process for the high-speed rail, including 20 in-person sessions between Toronto and Quebec City, along with eight virtual sessions.

It hopes to start building the first segment of the high-speed rail between Ottawa and Montreal in 2029.

Feds eye 2029 for construction of high-speed rail, 4 years sooner than anticipated