THUNDER BAY -- The chief of Fort William First Nation is not buying the latest offer by CN to reopen the James Street Swing Bridge.
Georjann Morriseau met with Thunder Bay city officials to discuss the offer and came away unimpressed, claiming it is a stall tactic by the company.
“These are tactics of a corporate citizen that likes to use bullying, money and time and hoping it holds the rest of us hostage,” Morriseau told TBT News.
“If that’s what they want to do then that’s their decision but as far as the First Nation is concerned we’ve been very diplomatic and professional.”
The bridge, which links the city to the First Nation, has been closed to vehicular traffic for more than 14 months following a fire on Oct. 29, 2013.
The span was reopened to rail traffic the same week of the blaze but the public has not been able to drive across it since.
While the First Nation is still accessible via Highway 61 and Chippewa Road, concerns have been raised about that route increasing response times for emergency services.
City council is expected to review the offer by the Jan. 19 meeting at the latest.
Previous offers have included vehicles sharing the centre lane of the bridge with train traffic, with CN paying up to $1.5 million while renegotiating the agreement on how is responsible for maintaining the bridge. That was unanimously rejected by council in July.
The federal government has also offered to mediate the dispute through the Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development ministries.
Morriseau last year claimed the company is trespassing on two road allowances on reserve land, though she said Fort William First Nation could forgive if the bridge were to be reopened.
