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.
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