Internal federal research shows many Canadians living along the proposed Toronto-to-Québec City high-speed rail route believe Ottawa's planned $90 billion project is too expensive and unnecessary, despite acknowledging it could reduce travel times.Blacklock's Reporter says the findings are contained in a Privy Council Office focus group report that surveyed residents in the Ottawa-Montréal corridor about the federal government's signature rail proposal."Participants residing in the Ottawa-Montréal corridor were asked questions related to the federal government's plan to develop high speed rail in their region," the report states.Researchers found all participants were aware of the proposal to build a high-speed rail line linking Toronto, Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, Montréal, Trois-Rivières and Québec City.While respondents generally agreed the project would make travel faster, many questioned whether it justified the cost."Sharing their reactions, while participants believed this project would be helpful in making it faster to travel along the corridor from Toronto to Québec City, a number were concerned about what they viewed as the high financial costs associated with the construction of a major transportation project such as this," the report says.Participants also argued there were already several convenient ways to travel between Toronto and Québec City and suggested Ottawa should focus on more pressing priorities."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," the report states.The Privy Council report, titled Continuous Qualitative Data Collection Of Canadians' Views, is dated March 3, only days after the House of Commons passed the High Speed Rail Network Act on Feb. 26. The legislation grants Alto Corporation, the Crown corporation managing the project, expanded powers to expropriate land required for construction.The Carney government plans to build an electrified rail network capable of speeds up to 300 kilometres per hour. The first phase, connecting Ottawa and Montréal, is expected to take about seven years to complete..Documents tabled in the House of Commons on June 5 show Alto has already spent $265.9 million of its $4.3 billion start-up budget. The agency has hired 13 vice-presidents, 44 directors and seven managers, including the wife of the federal finance minister.Opposition to the project has also surfaced in Parliament. Conservative MPs have sponsored 26 petitions signed by 27,036 Canadians opposing the rail venture.Alto's own public consultation report, released June 22, acknowledged concerns over the project's cost and schedule."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," the report stated.The consultations also found landowners, particularly in rural communities, were worried about expropriation."Apprehension about land acquisition was voiced, especially in rural areas," Alto reported. "Farmland protection and preservation of agricultural connectivity were raised as concerns."
