At its special meeting on Thursday, February 26, the Municipalité régionale de comté (MRC) d’Argenteuil Council supported the city of Mirabel’s request to the Government of Canada to include a study of the Mirabel corridor for a potential station for the proposed Alto high-speed rail line between Toronto and Québec City.
Director General Éric Pelletier noted that the resolution states the Laurentides region is the fourth most populous region in Québec, after Montréal, Montérégie, and the National Capital, with the city of Mirabel and the surrounding MRCs representing nearly 80 per cent of the regional population of the Laurentides, excluding the city of Laval.
The resolution highlighted the YMX Mirabel International Aerocity as a world-class site and having been recognized as a strategic and economic innovation zone that brings together leaders in aeronautics and advanced technologies in aerospace and was deserving of an Alto high-speed rail station. The site includes the infrastructure and space needed to accommodate a modern railway station with convenient access and ample parking.
Pelletier noted in the resolution that one of the objectives of the high-speed rail project is to link major economic centres in Canada, with Mirabel being home to the world’s third-largest aeronautical hub, inclusive of international companies Airbus, Pratt & Whitney, Safran, Bell Flight, and L3 Harris.
The resolution further stated that a high-speed rail stop at Mirabel would generate positive economic benefits to the population of Argenteuil.
The MRC Council passed the motion to study the Mirabel corridor airport site to determine the feasibility of establishing a station that meets all key criteria defined by the Alto project office, including accessibility, intermodality, and economic development.
The motion of support passed with a majority, though Saint-André-d’Argenteuil Mayor Stephen Matthews voted against the proposal.
