THUNDER BAY -- The city is heading to court over the James Street swing bridge.
CN's latest offer to get the bridge open to vehicle traffic was unanimously rejected by city council Monday night. They'll now ask a judge to determine the validity of the 1906 agreement between the city and CN, at the time the town of Fort William and the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway, that said the company would maintain the bridge in perpetuity.
The latest offer would've seen the bridge alternate one-way traffic between trains and vehicles. The 1906 agreement would have been terminated and Fort William First Nation would've had to give up any current or future land claims with CN, something mayor Keith Hobbs said the city couldn't and shouldn't do even if it could.
"We signed the 2011 declaration of commitment to work along side (Fort William First Nation), not screw them over so that was a poison pill for sure that CN threw in that agreement," Hobbs said.
The offer would open up the city to liability its never had before and having vehicles and trains share one lane is not an acceptable long-term solution. It was a bad offer made in bad faith, the latest CN has made in the past 18 months that have gone from bad to worse Hobbs said.
Waiting until now to take it to court was the city doing its due diligence he added.
"You have to exhaust every avenue before you take that step," he said.
City manager Tim Commisso said the decision will delay the opening of the bridge, which has been closed to vehicles since a fire in October 2013, even longer.
"My view is this is going to take probably as much time as it's taken since the fire," he said.
"It's not going to be anytime soon, no question."
But even if council had agreed to the offer, the deal still could've been terminated if Fort William First Nation decided not to give up its rights. Also, people need to understand that the bridge is owned by CN.
"We don't own this bridge," he said. "It's out of our control."
What is in the city's control is having a judge determine the agreement's validity. If it goes the city's way then council can decide its next steps. If the city loses, CN could close the bridge forever if it wanted to.
As for legal costs, Commisso said this is a first step and it's a manageable one. It also wasn't made lightly. The city has sent the offer back to CN several times since it came in late last year.
The city also has a number of concerns over the cause of the fire, which is still an active investigation with the Ontario Fire Marshal.
Thunder Bay Fire Rescue Chief John Hay has been in contact with that office to try and find out what's going on.
"It's been almost 18 months and the investigation is still active," Commisso said.
CN and the government of Canada offered $3 million toward construction, but the railway has refused to give the city acces to engineering studies to determine the bridge's condition or the breakdown of capital costs.
