Farmers Fight Land Grabs for Canada's High-Speed Rail

0:00Farmers like third-generation grower Christian Cardinal are staring down the barrel of land grabs for Canada's massive $90 billion dollar. High-speed rail line from Quebec City to Toronto. His family's corn and soy field sits smack in the path of a planned corridor that could slice right through Prime Farmland, echoing a painful history, where his grandparents lost property to the Mirabelle airport back in 1969. That airport project swallowed 40,000 hectares of good soil, but flopped hard, turning into a white elephant before the government sold most. Back to farmers in the 1980s. Now, alto, via rails arm running the show, got conditional approval last year for the Montreal to Ottawa stretch, aiming to break ground in 20. 29, once they nailed down the route by years end. Cardinal and hunters like him, worry a 60 meter wide fence rail will trap chunks of their land, forcing constant detours, think 40 to 50. Trips a day just to work their own fields.

1:01Union head Martin Karen calls the split devastating, especially with a new federal law making expropriation easier, no full court fights needed. Mirabelle's mayor pushes using nearby federal airport land instead to spare growers, while the union teams with Ontario folks the kill the whole thing. Doubting its payoff over slower, fence-free options. Conservatives blasted two, saying no real cost check on the 90 billion tab we can't afford. Alto promises case-by-case fair market deals with appraisals covering losses, but as consultations roll on, these farmers brace for what's next in. This high stakes tug-of-war over land and legacy. Local news, powered by AI. This is Canada News Today. I'm Corey with The Story.