Provincial subsidy for Cape Breton railway line not being renewed: minister
A $30,000 monthly subsidy intended to preserve a disused Cape Breton rail line will not be renewed, Nova Scotia's economic development minister said Thursday.
Susan Corkum-Greek said the decision was made after CN Rail last fall acquired a stake in the line that runs across the island from St. Peter's Junction to Sydney, N.S. She said she concluded there were no imminent private-sector plans to develop the line, which has fallen into disrepair.
"It was in my view time to call it," the minister said of the subsidy, which was the result of a 2016 deal from the previous Liberal government to preserve the possibility of a future business opportunity.
"Quite a period of time has elapsed," she said. "What is clear is that it's going to take a business case and that will be up to the private sector to determine if there is a business case."
Corkum-Greek said her department has seen estimates that it would take as much as $500 million to restore service on the island because of the need to repair sections of crumbling rail lines and aging railway bridges.
Freight rail service was discontinued in 2015 when Genesee & Wyoming Inc. -- the line's sole owner at the time -- decided to discontinue its Cape Breton operations because of a lack of business.
The Liberal government at the time reached a deal with the company to keep the line in place, instead of abandoning it and ripping up the tracks and selling off the land it sits on. The original six-year deal was worth about $60,000 a month. It was then renewed for another three years at a reduced rate of $30,000 a month.
Corkum-Greek said there's no word on whether CN wants to abandon the line. The company was not immediately available for comment on Thursday.
Under provincial regulations the company would have to apply to the public works minister in order to abandon the rail line and would have to submit a plan to do so. In the event the track is not removed the company would have to submit a management plan to ensure there's no risk to the public or the environment.
Derek Mombourquette, the Liberal legislature member for Sydney-Membertou, called the government's decision not to renew the subsidy an "abandonment of the rail line in Cape Breton."
"We have population growth and new economic opportunities that are coming … and I would argue it's important to try to protect that infrastructure for the price they are paying," Mombourquette said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 4, 2024.
For more Nova Scotia news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Liberal MP says she's leaving politics over disrespectful dialogue, threats, misogyny
Liberal MP Pam Damoff says she won't run again in the next federal election, saying she has experienced misogyny, disrespectful dialogue in politics and threats to her life.
Concerns about Plexiglass prompt inspections at some Loblaws locations in Ottawa
Inspections are underway at more than one Loblaws location in Ottawa after complaints were filed about tall Plexiglass barriers.
Federal employees will be required to spend 3 days a week in the office
Starting in September, public servants in the core public administration will be required to work in the office a minimum of three days a week. The Treasury Board Secretariat says executives will need to be in the office four days per week.
OPP officer said 'someone's going to get hurt' before wrong-way Hwy. 401 crash
As multiple Durham police cruisers were chasing a robbery suspect on the wrong side of Highway 401 Monday night, an Ontario Provincial Police officer shared his concerns, telling a dispatcher, "Someone's going to get hurt."
Ont. woman who faked pregnancy to defraud doulas arrested again on similar charges
Victims of a Brantford, Ont., woman who was sentenced to house arrest earlier this year for defrauding and deceiving doulas say they’re not surprised she’s been apprehended again on similar charges.
Five human skeletons, missing hands and feet, found outside house of Nazi leader Hermann Göring
Archeologists have unearthed the skeletons of five people, missing their hands and feet, at a former Nazi military base in Poland.
Poilievre returns to House unrepentant for calling Trudeau 'wacko,' Speaker not resigning
An unrepentant Pierre Poilievre returned to the House of Commons on Wednesday to pepper the prime minister about his drug decriminalization policies after being booted the day prior for refusing to take back calling Justin Trudeau 'wacko' over his approach to the issue.
Construction begins on LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa
Shovels have hit the ground for constuction on Canada's LGBTQ2S+ national monument in Ottawa.
B.C. man awarded $5,000 in damages in first-of-it-kind intimate image case
In a first-of-its-kind case, a B.C. tribunal has ruled on a dispute involving the non-consensual sharing of intimate images, awarding damages and issuing orders that the photos be destroyed and taken offline.