Verdict reached on James Street Swing Bridge
By Rick Garrick
FORT WILLIAM FIRST NATION—Fort William First Nation Chief Peter Collins is applauding the Supreme Court of Canada’s recent decision not to hear CN Rail’s appeal of a Court of Appeal decision ordering it to repair and reopen the James Street Swing Bridge.
“We’re very excited about the ruling that came down from the Supreme Court of Canada,” Chief Collins says. “It gives clear direction to CN to get the bridge re-opened, and I think that work has been in progress over the last little while now. CN had a tender out which closed on Feb. 21.”
Thunder Bay Mayor Bill Mauro also applauded the Supreme Court of Canada decision. The City of Thunder Bay had taken CN to court over the bridge closure due to the 1906 agreement between Grand Trunk Pacific, now CN, and Fort William, now amalgamated into the City of Thunder Bay, which specified two-way vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
“With this decision, CN has run out of options to delay,” Mauro says. “CN has failed to convince the highest court in Canada to allow a further appeal. CN must fix its bridge and reopen this important connection between Thunder Bay and Fort William First Nation.”
The Court of Appeal’s 2018 decision by Justice John I. Laskin, Justice James C. MacPherson and Justice J. Michal Fairburn stated: “I would allow the appeal, set aside the order of the application judge and in its place: a) Declare that CN has breached the 1906 Agreement; and b) Order CN to reopen the Bridge for vehicle traffic and maintain the Bridge in accordance with the 1906 Agreement.”
Jonathan Abecassis, media relations director with CN, says CN had sought proposals to re-open the James Street Swing Bridge over the past months.
“The successful bidder will be confirmed in the coming days and the work is expected to begin in the spring,” Abecassis says. “While CN continues to consider options to get further clarity on its long-term obligations, none of these options will impact CN’s decision to proceed with that work.”
Collins says the bridge, which spans the Kaministiquia River between Fort William and Thunder Bay, has been closed for about five-and-a-half years.
“We’re excited about having the access back in our community,” Chief Collins says, noting that a Fort William citizen was recently injured in an accident on the highway leading to Thunder Bay. “There’s a lot of work ahead of us yet to making sure the bridge gets done safely and properly so when we do travel across, we travel without any fear of falling in the river.”
Chief Collins says the community has been waiting patiently for the bridge repair, but he also noted safety is imperative for the community.
“When you look at our kids that are being transported into the city, we have seven buses that travel into the city every day,” Chief Collins says. ”Emergency response has been at times slow. We had an incident in our community about a year-and-a-half ago where there was a life-threatening situation. The person survived, but it took the emergency response— because of an accident on the road— 45 minutes to an hour to get here.”
Chief Collins adds that the business people in Fort William are excited about the bridge being open again to vehicle traffic.
“They look forward to more traffic in their facilities,” Collins says. “It helps us when we look at developing the Grand Trunk Pacific lands. One of the things that is critical to getting industry to come to our territory is access here.”