MILTON, Ontario — A Canadian court has blocked Canadian National Railway’s plans for its Milton Logistics Hub, a $250 million intermodal project first proposed in 2015 and approved by the federal government in 2021.
While the government attached 325 environmental conditions to the approval [see “Canadian National’s proposed Toronto-area intermodal terminal …,” Trains News Wire, Jan. 25, 2021], a federal court on Friday ruled that the government had failed to consider the adverse human impact of diesel exhaust from both locomotives and the 800 trucks per day that would visit the terminal. [An 800-truck-per-day cap was one of the conditions imposed in 2021].
The Bay Observer news site reports that Justice Henry S. Brown wrote that diesel exhaust contains “pollutants, some of which are known to be toxic to human health, in respect of which there is no safe level of human exposure.” Brown called it “inexplicable” that the impact on humans was not considered in the government’s decision.
The court ruling means the federal government must now reconsider the project, including a full evaluation of its health impacts.
“This has been a long battle to protect the health of our residents,” Milton Mayor Gordon Krantz told Halton Hills Today. “We are delighted that our concerns have been heard.”
CN said in a statement that it is still reviewing the decision but reiterated its commitment to the Milton facility as “a critical piece of infrastructure” in the Toronto area, Canada’s fastest growing region, “where new capacity is needed to meet the growing demand for goods.” Doug MacDonald, CN executive vice president and chief marketing officer, said in the statement, “The Canadian government has stated its commitment to addressing supply chain issues and improving Canada’s transportation system to make life more affordable for Canadians; this project is fundamental to that effort.”
The Milton facility would be CN’s fourth intermodal terminal in the Toronto area. The other three are already operating at capacity.
— Updated at 7:25 a.m. CT with CN statement.
So I guess that the people who live near congested urban freight terminals aren’t as important or worthy of concern for their health as the folks in the burbs. It seems to me that if the delivery of a large portion of freight traffic to the area were to become more efficient and cost-effective, there might actually be a net reduction in exhaust emissions to the metropolitan area as a whole. That seems like a goal worthy of pursuit.
Driverless electric trucks. Problem solved.
Or how about the Judges comment about diesel exhaust being wrong, as in the human body is remarkably able to detoxify itself given time. Even if some particulate matter has been deemed to be unsafe at any level(none that I am aware of), the amount of time diesel exhaust lingers in the air is insufficient to cause harm and particulate matter actually settles on the ground. There are more problems with this case but since I’m not really familiar with Canadian environmental laws(how similiar or dissimiliar they are to U.S. laws) there might be other factors involved.
“Greenies” aren’t even mentioned in this article. What is mentioned are the comments of a local mayor. Could this be a simply NIMBY case?
Even if “greenies” were mentioned, I’m glad there are those whose concerns include my personal respiratory issues. Also, are people (“greenies”) dumb because they don’t agree with you? I never thought of myself as being “dumb”.
It should be easy for CN to respond with appropriate information to satisfy the court (and maybe even you).
Your comment was excellent until you added that final sentence.
You actually high lighted a problem with these kinds of rulings when you mentioned your “personal respiratory issues”; the key being the use of the word “personal”. Personal implies that it is a problem only you experience, and when it’s a problem that only one person experiences then it is beholden to that one individual to make sure they are protected from the cause. It’s like people with weakened immune systems and the C-19 virus, those who know they are more susceptible to deadly infection will take whatever precautions are necessary to stay healthy, as opposed to inflicting the same restrictions on everyone whether they are at risk or not.
I should think that the diesel exhaust is already there. The 401 Freeway goes through Milton. The point of trains is to LESSEN environmental impact of the highways. But the greenies are far too dumb to understand any of that.
So now we have a Charles Landey and a Charles Landrey?!? Oh goody!
Really William? Don’t think so.
If there were a “Landrey” on these pages, which I’ve not noticed, I’m not related. My Landa/ Landey/ Landau clan is no relation to Landry. I’m not Canadian.
The major issue here is highway access for trucks.
Two lane roads backing on to residential areas as they get closer to the 401, 403/QEW.
So as any opposer knows throw everything you got at it and someone (judge in this case) may just side with you.
There’s a million new residents moving to this area so there is a need. As our thurst for imports and the need to try and reduce the number of long haul trucks by switching to intermodal continues to grow, eventually this facility will be constructed.