[p_xavier]

That's just you.

There was actually an editorial in the Globe and Mail about extreme left-wingers that see dog whistles everywhere when there is none and they are about crazy as extreme right wingers conspiracy theories. Reminds me of the Jeopardy white supremacist fiasco.

jeopardy-hand-gesture-maga-conspiracy.html

 

[crs1026]

You do understand how much havoc that caused right?

The illegality of the blockades was never in dispute. The Crown and the railways had no difficulty obtaining injunctions, even under existing law. The more difficult matter was when and how to forcibly apply them, given the potential of violence and of triggering new blockades.. A new law won’t change that dynamic. The CPC position is just virtue signalling, and it’s inflammatory. If the CPC wins the election and tables that legislation….. be careful what you ask for.

There’s a legal doctrine that says if you have to pass a new provision to establish something, then the something didn’t exist before. The CPC is actually taking the position that the blockades must have been legal……. otherwise why pass a new law?

The smarter position is to recognize what led to the blockades, and try to fix some of that.

- Paul

 

[Northern Light]

The illegality of the blockades was never in dispute. The Crown and the railways had no difficulty obtaining injunctions, even under existing law. The more difficult matter was when and how to forcibly apply them. A new law won’t change that dynamic. The CPC position is just virtue signalling, and it’s inflammatory. If the CPC wins the election and tables that legislation….. be careful what you ask for.

There’s a legal doctrine that says if you have to pass a new provision to establish something, then the something didn’t exist before. The CPC is actually taking the position that the blockades must have been legal……. otherwise why pass a new law?

The smarter position is to recognize what led to the blockades, and try to fix some of that.

- Paul

And to build enhanced redundancy into the network such that effective blockades are harder to pull off.

 

[nfitz]

A Conservative government will make historic investments in nationally significant projects across the country, such as the SkyTrain extension to Langley (British Columbia), Ontario’s GTA transit plan, Quebec City’s Third Link (Quebec), the Calgary Green Line (Alberta) and VIA Rail’s high-frequency rail project.

Getting Infrastructure Built - Conservative Party of Canada

The State of Canadian Infrastructure The centrepiece of Justin Trudeau’s 2015 campaign was his promise to invest $180 billion over 12 years in infrastructure. However, the Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO) found there was no additional infrastructure built in Canada over and above what would...

www.conservative.ca

That's good to see. I wonder though, why they didn't at least name-check VIA Rail in their platform document - even in a way that avoid terms like "HFR".

You do understand how much havoc that caused right?

Do you understand that the Mohawks of Tyendinaga have legal title to land the tracks are on, and have never received any compensation, despite 30 years of negotiations (or mostly lack of them), and court rulings in their favour?

It's their land, and their right to do with it what they want. I'm surprised they didn't blockade the 401 as well. I'm surprised at how reluctant they are to take real and quite justifiable action over the decades. Also, all action ended when Covid-19 started - and yet they still didn't have drinkable water, despite not being a remote, difficult to service, area.

There was actually an editorial in the Globe and Mail about extreme left-wingers that see dog whistles everywhere when there is none and they are about crazy as extreme right wingers conspiracy theories. Reminds me of the Jeopardy white supremacist fiasco.

Whether there is conspiracy or not is not the point. They need to avoid even the appearance of possible links. It perhaps speaks more to the incompetence and bubble of the decision makers in the party than anything else. While I don't think the party is inherently white nationalist - I am concerned that not every member of the party isn't. Though many of those are defecting to the PPC - whose platform also doesn't seem to mention VIA.

I don't think that's the correct link. That's not to the Globe and Mail, and the article doesn't even mention the left, let alone the extreme left - though what the Communist Party of Canada has to do with it I don't know. Incidentally, on a local level, their candidate sounds a lot more genuine and rational than many of the main-stream candidates! Oddly their platform though doesn't mention VIA Rail either, as far as I can see.

 

[lenaitch]

Do you understand that the Mohawks of Tyendinaga have legal title to land the tracks are on, and have never received any compensation, despite 30 years of negotiations (or mostly lack of them), and court rulings in their favour?

It's their land, and their right to do with it what they want. I'm surprised they didn't blockade the 401 as well. I'm surprised at how reluctant they are to take real and quite justifiable action over the decades. Also, all action ended when Covid-19 started - and yet they still didn't have drinkable water, despite not being a remote, difficult to service, area.

Apparently both now resolved:

Cabinet approves $240M Mohawk settlement for 132-year-old land claim

The federal cabinet has approved an agreement that will see Canada pay nearly $240 million in compensation to the Mohawks of Akwesasne to settle a land claim.

www.ctvnews.ca

Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte

Extended water distribution system under construction

www.sac-isc.gc.ca

That still doesn't address 'in sympathy' blockades, which the 2020 CN blockade was about. Having redundant ROWs might help, but they wouldn't solve the problem, any more than for a major derailment or washout. Rail corridors are inherently limited in number.

 

[nfitz]

Apparently both now resolved:

Cabinet approves $240M Mohawk settlement for 132-year-old land claim

The federal cabinet has approved an agreement that will see Canada pay nearly $240 million in compensation to the Mohawks of Akwesasne to settle a land claim.

www.ctvnews.ca

That's for Akwesasne near Cornwall. That settlement didn't address the situation at Tyendinaga, which is near Belleville.

Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte

Extended water distribution system under construction

www.sac-isc.gc.ca

Yes, they've been working on it for sometime. I hadn't realised they still weren't finished. I bet if Belleville had a boil water advisory for nearly 20 years, the government would have acted about 19 years ago!

That still doesn't address 'in sympathy' blockades, which the 2020 CN blockade was about. Having redundant ROWs might help, but they wouldn't solve the problem, any more than for a major derailment or washout. Rail corridors are inherently limited in number.

There have been other blockades there over the years. Yes, it was in sympathy but I have a hard time being upset about it, when the province has no title the land the 401 is on, and neither CP nor CN have title to the land the railway is on. I don't see either the railways (or VIA Rail) reaching out to at least offer payment for their tracks!

Reminder that these first nations sold their land to the British. Now if the white man blockaded important railway lines, they would be charged and prosecuted, but it's okay for first nations to blockaded, talk about double standards.

While many First Nations did sell land (though the courts have ruled many of these "sales" had huge issues - there was never a sale of the tract in question at Tyendinaga. The governments all admit it, the court has ruled on it - and yet the situation remains unresolved.

I thought that the media had reported extensively on Treaty 3 1/2 and the Culbertson Tract land claim over the decades - and it was reported very extensively last year.

No drinking water? maybe if the chief's of the first nations didn't pocket all the tax payers money, they would have drinking water.

What tax payers money? Given how badly the First Nations have been treated for centuries, I'm surprised that anyone would be blaming them. Particularly when they chose not to blockade either the CP line or the 401! Wasn't there even an offer that VIA didn't take them up on, to let passenger trains pass?

 

[Allandale25]

So. Any ideas on possible ways forward if the CPC is elected. Does HFR get canned? Does the scope get reduced?

"A Conservative government will deliver on transit for fast-growing communities like Kanata," said O’Toole. "Through Canada’s Recovery Plan, the Kanata LRT project and the VIA Rail high frequency rail project will create thousands of jobs and fuel a strong recovery for the Ottawa area."

Conservative Party pledges support to extend Ottawa's Light Rail Transit to Kanata

Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole is making a campaign pledge to Ottawa commuters, promising to extend light rail into Kanata and improve Highway 174 in Ottawa's east end.

ottawa.ctvnews.ca

 

[lenaitch]

That's for Akwesasne near Cornwall. That settlement didn't address the situation at Tyendinaga, which is near Belleville.

You're right. Bad proof-reading on my part.

 

[crs1026]

"A Conservative government will deliver on transit for fast-growing communities like Kanata," said O’Toole. "Through Canada’s Recovery Plan, the Kanata LRT project and the VIA Rail high frequency rail project will create thousands of jobs and fuel a strong recovery for the Ottawa area."

Conservative Party pledges support to extend Ottawa's Light Rail Transit to Kanata

Conservative Party leader Erin O'Toole is making a campaign pledge to Ottawa commuters, promising to extend light rail into Kanata and improve Highway 174 in Ottawa's east end.

ottawa.ctvnews.ca

The most encouraging part of that quote was the acknowledgement of the need to end delays.

Not saying that the CPC side didn’t create its own share of those delays in the past, but just like Ford in Toronto, the political mileage from being able to say the other party’s delays have been addressed and things are getting done is as much an incentive as taking credit for the work itself.

- Paul

 

[Darwinkgo]

^ I would look to the quote in the CPC platform page 27 that speaks to cancelling the CIB and deploying the unspent money to valid infrastructure projects, and “continue already committed projects”. (It would be naive to expect them to refer to HFR by name, as it’s a Liberal branded project…. but just as GO RER became GO Expansion, a rose by any other….).

The parts of VIA’s BCS that have favourable ROI would be the best to hope for. The London-Windsor portion might actually play to a Ford-O’Toole “kiss and make up“ once the election is over.…. a CPC federal-provincial united team thing just in time for Ford’s next election.

- Paul

Its funny, spending CIB money as grants increases the deficit. Oops.

 

[crs1026]

Its funny, spending CIB money as grants increases the deficit. Oops.

The hand is faster than the eye. The money was already borrowed by Ottawa and deposited in the CIB. This simply deploys it, instead of waiting on some magic event…..no change in federal debt.

- Paul

 

[Darwinkgo]

The hand is faster than the eye. The money was already borrowed by Ottawa and deposited in the CIB. This simply deploys it, instead of waiting on some magic event…..no change in federal debt.

- Paul

Except not. CIB has assets. Grants do not generate assets. Deficits are measured on change of assets.

 

[crs1026]

Except not. CIB has assets. Grants do not generate assets. Deficits are measured on change of assets.

I'm clearly not an accountant or finance type.... but...... if we are taking CIB money (previously raised by borrowing, hence already being carried by Ottawa as debt) and investing it as a VIA project.... would that not translate to the investment turning up on VIA's balance sheet (and hence Ottawa's) as an asset?

I take your point that disbursing CIB money as an operating grant to somebody out there is not an investment as a loan from CIB would be... but CIB money spent on HFR is meant to be an investment with intent to generate a return, not a grant.

To my simple brain, the problem with CIB's lack of progress is that they have money in their hands that was borrowed, and hence is attracting a borrowing cost, ie expense, but with no immediate prospect for a return on the money.... because the supposed infrastructure projects that will generate the return aren't getting built. That has to be a costly proposition for Ottawa - money borrowed but not put to use.

What's not clear in the CPC platform is how any net income generated from HFR flows back to service the debt, once the debt moves from a CIB account to general federal accounts. VIa has never previously paid a dividend to its owner, but maybe if HFR were built it might be in a position to do so. Or apply it to reduce the subsidy Ottawa pays VIA for other services, eg remote and transcon.

- Paul

 

[Darwinkgo]

I'm clearly not an accountant or finance type.... but...... if we are taking CIB money (previously raised by borrowing, hence already being carried by Ottawa as debt) and investing it as a VIA project.... would that not translate to the investment turning up on VIA's balance sheet (and hence Ottawa's) as an asset?

I take your point that an operating grant to somebody out there is not an investment as a loan from CIB would be... but CIB money spent on HFR is meant to be an investment with intent to generate a return, not a grant.

To my simple brain, the problem with CIB's lack of progress is that they have money in their hands that was borrowed, and hence is attracting a borrowing cost, ie expense, but with no immediate prospect for a return on the money.... because the supposed infrastructure projects that will generate the return aren't getting built. That has to be a costly proposition for Ottawa - money borrowed but not put to use.

What's not clear in the CPC platform is how any net income generated from HFR flows back to service the debt, once the debt moves from a CIB account to general federal accounts.

- Paul

It isn't like they have a $30 billion bank account. They have rights to draw $30 billion. Which creates a -$30 billion on the Government Books, and a +$30 billion on the CIB books, even if no money is borrowed, and no money flowed.

For assets owned by VIA Rail, if it is $6 billion lets say, it would be -$6 billion on government book, +$6 billion on the CIB book, -$6 billion on the CIB book, +a depreciated $6 billion on VIA's books. Which yeah, would be the same as a grant to VIA.

But for every thing else CIB does? it would be turning a wash into a negative.

 

[lenaitch]

It seems there won't be any service between Toronto and Montreal for a while:

One person injured in Prescott, Ont. freight train collision

Ontario Provincial Police say one person was treated for minor injuries after two freight trains collided in Prescott, Ont. Thursday morning, causing 16 rail cars to leave the tracks. The cause of the collision is under investigation.

ottawa.ctvnews.ca