EDITORIAL: City right to refuse offer

The City of Thunder Bay has drawn a line in the sand.

City officials on Monday revealed they’ve rejected CN’s latest offer to reopen the James Street Swing Bridge to vehicular traffic.
And well they should.

Calling it a bad deal in bad faith, Mayor Keith Hobbs said the railway’s offer of alternating one-way traffic down a shared rail deck is unacceptable.

The new deal would transfer much of the cost of maintaining the vehicular trafficway to the City of?Thunder Bay and require Fort William First Nation to give up rights in any land-claim process.

It’s clear both sides believe they have the winning hand.

CN, who along with the federal government offered $3 million toward the refurbishment of the bridge, is adamant they aren’t bound by the 1906 agreement, signed by the former Grand Truck Railroad and the City of Fort?William.

The city says they most certainly are.

The only downside is that a court battle could drag out for years and prove costly.

But the alternative for the city and Fort?William First Nation is finding funding for a new bridge, which could cost tens of millions of dollars just to build. And then there’s the ongoing maintenance costs.

If CN is indeed deemed responsible and bound to the 1906 agreement, that could save municipal taxpayers and residents of Fort?William First Nation a lot of money in the long run