CN Truck-Rail Hub in Milton

The Halton Municipalities and Conservation Halton (the “Halton Municipalities”) filed an appeal of the August 10, 2022 decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in a case between the Halton Municipalities and CN related to CN’s proposed truck-rail hub in Milton. For more information, please read the September 12 media release from Halton Region.

Halton Municipalities are going to court in Ontario to demand CN compliance with laws

On April 15, 2021, the Halton Municipalities and Conservation Halton resumed their 2018 Ontario court case against the proposed Milton CN truck-rail hub to ensure CN complies with laws that protect the health of residents and the environment. 

Read more here

Halton Regional Council has formally requested a judicial review of the federal approval of the CN truck-rail hub in Milton.  

Mayor Burton's email explains the matter. 

Full details on the CN Milton Logistics Hub Project can be found here

Letter from Regional Chair Gary Carr

Good afternoon,

I am extremely disappointed to share that on January 21, 2021, the Federal Government ignored the significant harm to the health and safety of Halton residents by approving CN’s proposed truck-rail hub in Milton. This is the first time in Canadian history that a Federal Review Panel has determined that a project will have significant adverse effects on human health. It is an unenviable distinction for this Federal Government that it is the first Cabinet that has ever approved a project that would harm human health in ways that cannot be mitigated.

Since this project was proposed by CN, we have been clear about our concerns for the Halton community. The location for the project is within one kilometer of approximately 34,000 current and future residents, one hospital, twelve schools and two long-term care homes, and the facility will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week—resulting in at least 1,600 new trips to and from the facility each day by heavy-duty container trucks. 

The significant health effects that will be caused by this project are unavoidable. This includes the release of particulate matter (PM2.5) that is unsafe at any level of exposure and will significantly increase adverse effects on human health in the community. The Federal Review Panel also concluded that more than 200 mitigation conditions were required to avoid other significant adverse effects from this project, but only a handful of them are enforceable by the Federal Government. 

There are also many unanswered questions about what CN plans to do with the remaining 800 acres after it builds its new 400-acre facility. The Halton Municipalities will review Cabinet’s decision and will continue to work with the community and be their voice on this issue. 

Thank you to everyone who participated in the consultation process and provided their input for the government’s consideration by signing petitions, attending town hall meetings, making phone calls and writing letters to local MPPs and MPs. I’d also like to thank all of Halton’s Members of Parliament and Members of Provincial Parliament for their support and sharing our common concerns with this project, particularly Milton MP Adam van Koeverden, whose involvement has been imperative throughout this process. This truly has been a non-partisan effort that has united our community.

Moving forward, we will continue our efforts to protect our communities’ interests to keep Halton a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire. To learn more about the harm to human health from this project, please visit halton.ca/CN.

Sincerely,

Gary Carr

Halton Regional Chair 

Letter from Regional Chair Gary Carr

Good afternoon, 

As you may know, CN is proposing to build a 400 acre truck-rail hub in the Town of Milton. As part of the Federal Review process, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada is in the final stages of public consultation regarding their environmental assessment of CN’s proposed truck-rail hub and I am writing to you today to ask you to take action to have your voice heard on this issue. The Agency is accepting comments from the public on the potential environmental assessment conditions for the project until August 21. I am encouraging everyone who lives or works in Halton to learn more about the proposal and to take action to make sure the Federal Government knows where you stand on this issue. 

Here are the facts:

• The proposed site is immediately adjacent to existing and planned residential areas. Approximately 34,000 current and future residents, twelve schools, two long-term care homes and one hospital are located within one kilometer of the site.
• The proposed hub will operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week and result in 1,600 truck trips to and from the site each day.  These truck routes will lead to more traffic on our roads and traffic will continue to increase as the site’s capacity grows. This congestion poses a      risk to the safety of motorists, cyclists, pedestrians and families in the area. 
• The proposed facility is contrary to Halton’s planning strategy developed over 20 years ago —planning that is irreversible at this stage.
• Through their review, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada determined that CN’s proposed truck-rail hub in Milton is likely to cause significant adverse environmental effects on air quality and human health. 
• The Panel identified six potentially significantly adverse effects on human and environmental health as well as a risk for at least 16 additional potentially adverse effects, including the impact of noise on residential communities.
• This is not business as usual — the impacts to air quality and human health are unprecedented and put Halton residents at risk. 

The Halton Municipalities have been advocating to the Federal Government to refuse approval of CN’s proposed truck-rail hub in Milton since 2015. My position and that of the Halton Mayors who stand with me is that this project should not go forward given the Panel’s findings of significant adverse effects on human health and the environment. If the Federal Government approves this project, they are sending a message that the health and safety of Halton residents is worth risking. 

Voicing our concerns

We are concerned that this is only the start — CN has not disclosed their plans for the other 800 acres of their 1,200 acres of land in Milton, and potential expansion in the future would increase the effects on health, traffic, safety and the environment. We call on the Federal Government to do the right thing and refuse approval of CN’s proposal.

To continue our advocacy efforts against this proposed truck-rail hub, we’ve created a video that highlights the many impacts to our community and those who live here.

Make your voice heard

Now is the time to act so you can voice your opinion before the Minister’s announces a decision by September 23. To make your voice heard, you can:

• call or email your Member of Parliament  and tell them that the health of your families and neighbours matter;
• submit your comments directly to the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada by using the link on halton.ca/cn;
• sign the online petition posted by Milton Says No and Milton R.A.I.L. and join others      in your community in the fight against CN’s proposal by August 16; and
• be a part of the conversation on social media by  using the hashtag #sayNO2CNhub and following @RegionofHalton.

For more information about CN’s proposal and the Halton Municipalities’ position on this project, please visit halton.ca/cn. Together we can do what’s right for our community and ensure that Halton remains a great place to live, work, raise a family and retire. 

Sincerely, 

Gary Carr

Halton Regional Chair

Link to CN Milton Logistics Hub website