A protest against the Alto high-speed rail project took place on Thursday, March 5, starting at CàB Café, with protestors marching and tractors rolling down the street to the Chute-à-Blondeau Community Centre. Numerous speeches were given in opposition to the proposed Alto line, including by elected officials such as East Hawkesbury Mayor Robert Kirby and Saint-André-d’Argenteuil Mayor Stephen Matthews.
CàB Café owner Élisabeth Arbaud said, “We have a big rally going on, and we’re starting here at the café because it is in the heart of the community. We decided to begin here and do a march, welcoming farmers from across the region, including Mirabel, to demonstrate their opposition to the high-speed rail project.”
“I’m against the rail for many reasons, namely that it’s going to destroy our communities, our farmers’ livelihoods, and our environment,” Arbaud continued. “People are saying we need to be in favour of progress, but many of the people here will not benefit from Alto. None whatsoever.”
Kirby spoke to the crowd of protestors once they arrived at the community centre, saying, “This municipality is completely against the Alto rail. We must stick together as a community to ensure our rights aren’t trampled by this project.”
Arbaud said the jobs created by constructing the rail will only benefit a few while, at the same time, “destroying our small rural communities.”
She explained that numerous farmers have shared their concerns about the project, particularly families from Mirabel who previously faced expropriation for the Mirabel International Aerocity.
“They’re fearful that history is repeating itself here, in Chute-à-Blondeau,” Arbaud said.
Alt-No organizers Gary and Kim Denis spoke to The Review before the protest, saying, “We are a committee of about eight or ten people, but we’re still loosely coming together to stand up against the project.”
Kim and Gary said that Arbaud takes a lot of pride in her community and that, after recently moving to the region for retirement, they felt the need to stand up and do something to have their voices heard alongside hers.
“Nobody really knew it was coming,” Gary said. “We only really heard about the potential impacts about a month ago, so it was quite a shock to see how fast the project is rolling without taking into consideration the farmers and property owners who will be impacted the most.”
To help spread their message, Alt-No sold hats and buttons sporting “Alt-No” at the event and had their petition available for interested individuals to sign.
Matthews said he was worried about the impacts on farmers in Saint-André-d’Argenteuil, noting, “I am a farmer myself. The planned Alto project creates issues not only for the farmers, but also for those who visit their neighbours, have a cup of coffee, and now all of a sudden you will have this big wall from the high-speed rail potentially separating them.”
“It will create a lot of dead-end streets, impact school transportation, and also impact our fire department’s ability to respond quickly to different issues in the area, so we must do what we’re doing now—gathering together in numbers to voice our concerns, make a statement,” Matthews said.
“We really see that it’s unacceptable for our livelihoods, and it’s going to take a lot of gatherings like this one for the federal government to hear our message loud and clear.”
