Ottawa’s proposed $90 billion high-speed railway between Toronto and Quebec City is facing another potential obstacle, with Parks Canada warning the route could affect federally protected historic places, including a UNESCO World Heritage Site.Blacklock's Reporter says an Access to Information memo shows Parks Canada has raised concerns about possible impacts to lands and historic sites it administers as federal planners work to determine the final route.“Parks Canada is implicated in this project because of possible impacts to Parks Canada-administered places depending on the route selected for the project,” said the censored 15-page memo.“The project is in an early planning stage and there is currently insufficient information to determine how Parks Canada lands or resources may be affected.”The agency said it is providing expertise to federal officials during the early planning process.The Liberal government plans to spend an estimated $90 billion on an electrified passenger railway capable of reaching speeds of 300 kilometres per hour. The proposed route would connect Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, Montreal, Trois-Rivières and Quebec City.Construction of the first section between Ottawa and Montreal is expected to take approximately seven years.A July 8 Parks Canada memo said the agency had already provided Transport Canada with information about potential risks and identified key concerns surrounding the project.“The project will undergo federal designated project impact assessments led by the Impact Assessment Agency,” said the Briefing Note To The Interim President & Chief Executive Officer.“The impact assessment for the segment between Ottawa and Montréal is expected to officially begin in January 2027.”One of the potential issues is the Rideau Canal, which was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2007..Asked whether the railway threatens the Rideau Canal, Parks Canada said it is too early in the planning process to determine the potential impact.“At this stage it is too early to say how the high speed rail project may interact with the Rideau Canal,” said the memo.Parks Canada identified several federally administered locations that are within or near the project's preliminary 10-kilometre-wide planning corridor.They include Rouge National Urban Park, the Lachine Canal, Rideau Canal, Trent-Severn Waterway and national historic sites in Quebec.“It is important to emphasize the preliminary high speed rail corridor is a broad area under consideration which will be refined and narrowed,” said the memo.The warnings add to concerns already confronting Alto Corporation, the Crown corporation responsible for developing the railway.Farmers along the potential route have raised concerns about the prospect of losing land through expropriation, while taxpayers have questioned whether the massive infrastructure project can be completed within its projected cost and timeline.Alto acknowledged those concerns in a June 22 What We Heard Report.“Many participants raised questions about the project and its timeline and were skeptical that the project could be delivered within the anticipated budget and schedule,” said the report..Federal focus group research commissioned by the Privy Council Office has also found skepticism among Canadians over whether the railway should be an Ottawa priority.Some participants questioned the need for another transportation option between Toronto and Quebec City given existing air, rail and highway connections.“Among these participants, the view was expressed that there were already numerous ways to transit between Toronto and Québec City relatively quickly with some feeling that there were likely other projects that represented more urgent priorities for the Government of Canada to be focusing on,” said the report, Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians’ Vie
