To the Editor,
I’ve written about Alto almost daily since mid-May, largely because English-language coverage of a project set to affect two provinces and every Canadian taxpayer has been thin. Radio-Canada and La Presse have covered it well in French; English outlets, less so — I’ve had to email several newsrooms about stories they’ve missed. Not The Review. Their coverage has been consistent and original. I have been grateful for their coverage.
It was disappointing to see Alto’s full-page ad in The Review claiming amongst other things that the train will boost agricultural productivity and support the next generation of farmers. Alto has given zero details on how a train bisecting agricultural communities benefits them, and the “Community Benefits” report I requested through ATIP came back 100 per cent redacted. I have had to file an appeal to the Information Commissioner for an order to release the report without redactions. The backlash to the Alto ad was swift, and, unfortunately, some of it landed on The Review.
Let’s be clear where the real fault lies. Alto is severing farmland and drainage systems, torturing residents with an opaque study-corridor process, and secretly acquiring a Manhattan Island-sized land mass through existing communities — while calling it a benefit. That’s not messaging; it’s condescension. What’s owed is respect, and an apology: Alto held no real engagement until January 2026, ran only one open house between Ottawa and the Québec border (mostly in English in a French community), and demanded NDAs from municipal officials. Limited information is being released pro-actively and even ATIP responses are being heavily redacted or deferred for months.
None of that is The Review’s doing and papers need ad revenue to survive. But this is the second time an institution has taken heat simply for doing business with Alto, after a partnership with Franco-Ontarien festival collapsed one day after it was publicly announced. That pattern should worry Alto more than the paper. Although I am sure The Review and others will now look at proposed Alto advertisements and partnerships much more closely and, perhaps, some will refuse to engage with them at all.
Erin Durant, Vars
Owner of Durant Barristers
Author of the Canadian High-Speed Rail Files
