{"id":12785,"date":"2025-11-26T20:25:09","date_gmt":"2025-11-26T23:25:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/26\/critics-worry-about-liberal-plan-to-fast-track-high-speed-rail\/"},"modified":"2025-11-26T20:25:09","modified_gmt":"2025-11-26T23:25:09","slug":"critics-worry-about-liberal-plan-to-fast-track-high-speed-rail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/2025\/11\/26\/critics-worry-about-liberal-plan-to-fast-track-high-speed-rail\/","title":{"rendered":"Critics worry about Liberal plan to fast-track high-speed rail"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>PoliticsIn an effort to halve the approval time for Canada\u2019s new high-speed rail network, the Liberal government is streamlining how it expropriates land in a way that some say could compromise property rights and lead to costly mistakes. Proposed changes to expropriation rules remove right to hearings, prohibit work on designated landPeter Zimonjic  \u00b7 CBC News  \u00b7 Posted: Nov 26, 2025 12:38 PM EST | Last Updated: 44 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 7 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.A wholly owned subsidary of Via Rail, Alto, has been mandated to develop the Liberal government\u2019s high-speed rail project that Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to begin building in just four years. (Jacob Barker\/CBC)In an effort to halve the approval time for Canada\u2019s new high-speed rail network, the Liberal government is streamlining how it expropriates land in a way that some say could compromise property rights and lead to costly mistakes.The Budget 2025 Implementation Act (BIA), which enacts measures proposed in the budget, also contains changes to the Expropriation Act and other laws that make it quicker and easier for the federal government to acquire land for the new railway.\u201cThey\u2019ve taken away safeguards in the interest of time, but I wouldn\u2019t say those are just protections for the homeowner\u201d Shane Rayman, a Toronto lawyer who specializes in expropriation law, told CBC News.\u201cThose safeguards protect both sides against mistakes that are sometimes made in a very complicated process.\u201dTransport Canada told CBC News the expropriation process had to be adapted because the \u201cgeometric requirements of high-speed rail\u201d impose strict limits on how much the track can curve, leaving only \u201ca narrow range of technically viable\u201d land for the project.The proposed line from Quebec City to Toronto \u2014 which Prime Minister Mark Carney wants to start building in four years \u2014 will have stops in Trois-Rivi\u00e8res, Laval, Montreal, Ottawa and Peterborough.The department says that despite the changes landowners will be treated fairly. \u201cIndividuals and organizations subject to expropriation will continue to receive fair compensation based on established principles, including market value and other eligible costs,\u201d a Transport Canada spokesperson said in an email.But the Montreal Economic Institute (MEI), a Quebec-based think-tank, challenged that view saying in a commentary posted on its website that safeguards are being \u201cthrown out,\u201d risking the livelihoods of farmers and other landowners.\u201cSteamrolling property owners is no way to treat Canadians, and trying to bury such an erosion of property rights in an omnibus bill only adds insult to injury,\u201d the commentary said.Eliminating hearingsUnder Section 10 (1) of the Expropriation Act, the minister is required to order a hearing when someone serves them with an objection. The changes in the BIA, which is currently in second reading in the House, eliminates that requirement.Rayman says hearings have value because they allow the federal government and the landowner the ability to re-examine the reasoning behind a purchase decision \u2014 a process that can often lead to planning changes.\u201cI\u2019ve had the experience before where the government finds they\u2019re not following guidelines, they haven\u2019t justified what\u2019s needed, they\u2019ve taken land that they can\u2019t access or that there\u2019s no established reason for taking the property,\u201d he said.Rayman says discovering these errors and coming up with solutions often benefits the government by allowing them to get out of a land purchase they do not need.The proposed rail project would link Quebec City and Toronto, with several stops in between. (CBC)If the Expropriation Act is amended, landowners can still raise an objection, but the minister makes a decision on the matter without a hearing. If the government wants to complete its expropriation, the minister only has to provide a written response.Transport Canada told CBC News that \u201call objections would be considered before making a determination,\u201d and landowners can challenge compensation amounts in Federal Court. But critics say this opens the door to errors.The MEI\u2019s Renaud Brossard says that in land expropriations the balance of power is skewed in favour of the government and due process is necessary to protect homeowners.\u201cThere are some legitimate points that landowners can make as part of that process and that a government might not be aware of,\u201d he said.Through the consultation process, alternative routes and right-of-ways can be found that allow a landowner to keep their properties while still allowing a project to be built, Brossard said.Rayman says that in many cases landowners have used the hearing process as a delay tactic and this change is likely being introduced to circumvent that possibility.Prohibitions and the right of first refusalThe legislative changes also give the federal government the power to slap a \u201cprohibition on work\u201d on a property that is not yet being expropriated but it \u201cmay require for the purpose of a railway.\u201dOnce that prohibition has been ordered, the landowner cannot do any work to improve their land or buildings for four years or until the prohibition is lifted.\u201cThat\u2019s a long time if someone wants to renovate their house, it\u2019s [also] a long time if someone\u2019s got a development property that they\u2019ve purchased as an investment,\u201d Rayman said.Work that was ongoing when the government declared an interest can continue, but anyone starting work on their property after a prohibition has been issued could be prosecuted.Transport Canada says the prohibition is being included to \u201cprevent land speculation\u201d and other attempts to increase the value of property that may be required for the high-speed rail track.\u201cIt does not prevent landowners from performing necessary repairs and maintenance,\u201d the spokesperson said.WATCH | What would the project look like?:What Canadian high speed rail could look likeThe time it takes to travel from one city to another could be cut in half, which could have a massive effect on how many people travel, and even where people live. But some say the costs associated with the federal government\u2019s plan may keep high-speed rail in Canada out of reach.The federal government can also file a \u201cright of first refusal\u201d notice on the sale of land where work is prohibited.According to the BIA, when a landowner receives an offer from a third party, the landowner must present the offer to the federal government so that it can \u201cpurchase the land at the price specified in the agreement.\u201dBut Rayman says that, in many cases, a buyer wouldn\u2019t bother making an offer on land that has a right of first refusal attached.\u201cI would call it a dark cloud on title [because] it impacts the owner\u2019s ability to market the property,\u201d he said.Rayman says that both provincial and federal laws on expropriation, and the way those laws have been treated in court, demonstrate their intent is to ensure landowners are made whole for the losses they may suffer in an expropriation.He says that extends beyond the value of the land to include how an expropriation may economically impact adjacent land, or the impact of having a high-speed train zooming through part of their property.\u201cIt does not appear that these changes impact an owner\u2019s rights to compensation and to being made whole under the Expropriation Act, but rather they\u2019re meant to speed up the process,\u201d he said.Alto, the subsidiary of Via Rail that is developing the project, will be holding its first round of public consultations on its proposed route this winter, focusing on a broad corridor for the track. Two more rounds of consultations on a firmer route will take place over the next 18 months. These consultations will consider the result of field studies on wildlife and environmental impacts along with noise, water and air quality studies.Alto told CBC News that it would not publicly comment on the changes to the Expropriation Act outlined in the BIA at this time.ABOUT THE AUTHORPeter Zimonjic is a senior writer for CBC News who reports for digital, radio and television. He has worked as a reporter and columnist in London, England, for the Telegraph, Times and Daily Mail, and in Canada for the Ottawa Citizen, Torstar and Sun Media. He is the author of Into The Darkness: An Account of 7\/7, published by Vintage.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PoliticsIn an effort to halve the approval time for Canada\u2019s new high-speed rail network, the Liberal government is streamlining how it expropriates land in a way that some say could compromise property rights and lead to costly mistakes. Proposed changes to expropriation rules remove right to hearings, prohibit work on designated landPeter Zimonjic \u00b7 CBC [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":12786,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,1047,1],"tags":[116,1046],"class_list":["post-12785","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-indigenous","category-ontario","category-uncategorized","tag-indigenous","tag-ontario"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12785","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12785"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12785\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12786"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12785"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12785"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/service.codeus.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12785"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}