E-7203: Petition to the House of Commons — Canadian Petition Tracker
Canonical URL: https://petitiontracker.ca/petition/e-7203
Track petition E-7203 — "Petition to the House of Commons" sponsored by Scott Reid. 15,577 signatures and counting. See signature growth trends and provincial breakdown on PetitionTracker.ca.
Petition Text
Petition to the House of Commons
Whereas:
• Bill C-15 includes provisions granting the federal government extraordinary powers to designate rail corridors and expedite approvals, potentially limiting full environmental review and meaningful consultation with affected landowners, municipalities, and communities;
• The Alto high-speed rail project is estimated to cost approximately $90 billion, which would equate to roughly $9,000 per Canadian family of four, yet the project would serve only a small fraction of Canadians compared with other public transit or infrastructure investments, raising concerns about cost-effectiveness, fairness, and the prioritization of federal spending;
• The proposed Alto high-speed rail project would require construction of new rail corridors through productive agricultural lands and rural communities, resulting in permanent land fragmentation, disruption of farm operations, and impacts on rural road access and emergency services;
• Construction of new high-speed rail infrastructure would generate substantial upfront greenhouse gas emissions from carbon-intensive materials such as concrete and steel, emissions that may take decades to offset as passenger vehicles increasingly electrify and reduce transportation-related emissions;
• The Ottawa–Montreal corridor is already served by multiple transportation options, raising questions about the relative public benefit of prioritizing this segment over improvements to existing rail infrastructure; and
• Upgrading existing rail corridors to provide higher-frequency passenger service could expand capacity and reliability while minimizing environmental disturbance and community disruption.
We, the undersigned, Residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to decline to approve or advance provisions in Bill C-15 that grant extraordinary powers to expedite rail corridor approvals.
1. Cease further advancement of the Alto high-speed rail project; and
2. Redirect federal investment toward improving higher-frequency passenger rail service within existing corridors.