To the Editor,
The federal government’s Alto high-speed rail project has the potential to be transformational—but only if it benefits all Canadians, not just those living in major cities.
As someone who has lived in both urban and rural communities and now operates businesses in rural Eastern Ontario, I understand the importance of connecting people and economies. However, rural residents will have a hard time supporting a project that cuts through their communities without providing meaningful access to it.
If farmland is expropriated to make way for the rail line, compensation alone is not enough. To many farming families, the land is worth far more than its market value. It has produced food, income, and opportunity for generations. It is part of their heritage and livelihood.
If rural Canadians are being asked to sacrifice land for this project, they should also share in its benefits. Strategic rural stops would help create economic opportunities, improve mobility, and ensure the project strengthens rather than widens the rural-urban divide.
Nation-building projects succeed when everyone has a stake in them. Alto should be designed to connect rural and urban Canada—not simply speed past one to serve the other.
Jamie Bogue
President, IGS Hawkesbury
