THUNDER BAY -- The city’s fire chief says the probe into the James Street Swing Bridge fire has been delayed as investigators wait for co-operation from CN Rail.
John Hay on Tuesday said the Ontario fire marshal’s office requested information nearly three months ago from the company as investigators try to determine the cause of the Oct. 29, 2013 blaze that resulted in the bridge being closed to vehicular traffic.
“The fire marshal’s investigation is not complete at this time. They are awaiting some information they’ve requested from CN about some parts off the bridge,” Hay said.
“I know that Nov. 13, 2014 was the last correspondence between the fire marshal’s office and as of Friday there was still no information yet.”
However, a statement issued by CN public and government affairs director Jim Feeny said the company provided the fire marshal's office with the requested information. He directed further inquiries to the fire marshal's office, which did not reply.
Though the cause remains undetermined, Hay said he remains optimistic the cause will eventually be determined.
That process starts with eliminating potential scenarios.
“There was no lightning that night, there was no hydro power surge that we know of and there was no grass fire or forest fire beside the bridge. There weren’t any other fires in the neighbourhood that dropped burning material on the bridge, as an example,” Hay said.
He made those remarks following a Tuesday afternoon media conference held at city hall that included Fort William First Nation Chief Georjann Morriseau and Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs.
Morriseau commented on the latest - and supposedly last – offer from CN to reopen the bridge. She said she finds the offer so “offensive” she is done trying to negotiate.
The offer, which was unanimously rejected by Thunder Bay city council at Monday night’s meeting, called for Fort William to surrender all past, current and future lands rights claims against the company.
That, she said, is unacceptable and continues the company’s trend of attempting to negotiate through bullying and strong-armed tactics.
“That, to me, is a very offensive thing to offer the First Nation because you’re asking us to expropriate our lands,” she said in an interview following a media conference held at Thunder Bay city hall Tuesday afternoon.
“I don’t know if it was just another ‘let’s see how stupid they are’ approach because in this clause it essentially gives up all of our inherent rights to those lands and any compensation.”
During the conference Morriseau sat alongside Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs and said her community was stepping back as the city prepares to take CN to court to challenge the 1906 agreement.
She believes the offer, which was made to the city, had the purpose of trying to turn Thunder Bay against the Fort William First Nation.
“I think their approaches and tactics haven’t worked so they’re still trying to find new ones. I think by trying to pull the city in and have the city mediate a solution or pressure us with that, and even accept that, is very disrespectful,” Morriseau said.
Feeny disputed that the company had asked Fort William First Nation to relinquish lands.
“CN has not asked Fort William First Nation to surrender lands. The Fort William First Nation had questioned the validity of CN`s title to its right-of-way and offered to grant title if CN reopened the bridge. The issue remains unresolved, but CN has no intention of asking the First Nation to surrender lands,” he said in a statement.
With a potentially lengthy court battle looming Hobbs said he is optimistic about the city’s position, citing the 1906 agreement that was signed between the former Town of Fort William and the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway. Thunder Bay and CN have each taken over the terms outlined.
He read an excerpt from the contract which placed responsibility on the railway to ensure the bridge “allowed for Town traffic on each side of the bridge, be sufficient to accommodate street car, vehicular traffic and separate passage for foot passengers.”
Feeny said the company was devoted to reaching a solution.
“CN is disappointed that the City of Thunder Bay has chosen to reject CN’s offer and chosen to litigate this issue rather than pursue a negotiated solution.
“CN has presented several offers that would have restored access to the James Street Bridge and the communities living on each side of the Bridge, but despite our repeated best efforts to secure agreement, all were rejected by the city.”
