The Long Walk to be Heard embarked on a 72-kilometre journey on Sunday, November 8.
The walk, led by anti-Alto high-speed rail activists Kristin Muller and Kathleen O’Connell Renaud, left St-Eugène at 1 pm Sunday and began travelling west on the Prescott and Russell Recreational Trail and finished the first 3.8 kilometres at Dandy Road at 3 pm. The walk will continue each day along the trail and end in Ottawa during the afternoon on Wednesday, November 12.
Muller said they organized the walk as a way of keeping the message against the proposed high-speed rail line prominent and productive.
On the first day, nearby residents Jeff and Heather LeRoy, Andrew Barton, and Isabel Deslauriers joined for part of the walk. Lawyer Erin Durant of Vars, who is against the project and has been compiling documents disputing its efficacy and feasibility, participated. St-Isidore area egg farmer Daniel Longtin, along with Lise Beauchamp, a resident of Mirabel who also opposes the Alto project, also joined for all or part of the first day.
“We do not feel heard,” Muller said.
The Alto federal crown corporation is supposed to announce the corridor under consideration for the Ottawa to Montréal line and further public consultations before the end of 2026. Muller and O’Connell Renaud said the announcement could occur as early as sometime during the next two weeks.
“We do not have any answer still, and yet the corridor announcement is imminent,” Muller said.
“We’re hoping to be heard this time,” Longtin said.
The Nation Municipality Ward 1 Councillor Tim Stewart also was among those who greeted the walkers at Dandy Road on Sunday.
On Monday, November 9, the walk continued from Dandy Road to the Trail Pavilion near the Highway 34 crossing north of Vankleek Hill. Champlain Township Mayor Elect Corina Parisien was among the people who greeted the walkers at that location.
Long Walk to be Heard participants arriving at Dandy Road. Photo: James Morgan
