For over one year Fort William First Nation and the City of Thunder Bay have been without vehicular access to the James Street Swing bridge since it was closed to due fire damage. Fort William First Nation believes that no further delay in taking action to reopen the bridge can be justified.
CN needs to be reminded that they are in breach of the 1906 agreement with the City of Thunder Bay which outlines maintaining the bridge in perpetuity.
The safety impacts with the closure continue to escalate with winter now upon us including:
-Increased amount of accidents occurring along this congested roadway.
- Approximately 250 FWFN children are bused along much longer and unsafe routes to and from school daily.
-Emergency response times have increased dramatically. It is unacceptable that anyone who requires medical intervention, for their care to be jeopardized.
-The negative economic impact to both the City of Thunder Bay and Fort William First Nation has been strongly felt.
Please come together to assist us in showing the executives of CN including their shareholders and all levels of government that this continued closure must end!
November 18, 2014
Claude Mongeau
President & Chief Executive Officer CN
935 de La Gauchetiere Street West, 16th Floor
Montreal , Quebec H3B 2M9
RE: LETTER OF SUPPORT CONCERNING JAMES STREET SWING BRIDGE
Dear Mr. Mongeau:
I am writing to you as I share the concerns identified by FWFN regarding the continued closure of the James Street Swing Bridge which borders on the traditional territory of Fort William First Nation and the City of Thunder Bay. The closure of this bridge has added significant congestion and stress to the Highway 61/Chippewa Road turn-off. The City of Thunder bay traffic department has estimated that 14,000 vehicles per day commute to and from home to work on and off reserve; including approximately 250 children from FWFN who are bused along much longer and unsafe roadways. There has also been an increase in emergency response waiting times, which poses a significant risk to those who reside on the First Nation. Not to mention the economic impact that has been negatively felt by both communities.
FWFN has taken what I feel all the necessary steps in good faith to come up with a solution that would have allowed the bridge to open to vehicular traffic by Christmas. Through a partnership with AANDC, Fort William First Nation was able to offer $1,000,000 towards the remediation of the James Street Swing Bridge. However, CN has turned down this offer and you continue to see relief under the 1906 agreement which FWFN is not a party to.
Given these concerns, I believe no further delay in taking action to reopen the James Street Swing Bridge can be justified. All parties are morally and legally obligated to take whatever steps necessary to resolve this matter. In the past few days alone, there have been 2 serious accidents with significant traffic hold up along the roadway. My fear with the continued closure of the alternate access route will result in the fatality of a motorist or pedestrian who have no other option but to use this busy route.
We trust that CN will consider this matter a priority to bring much a needed alternate access for FWFN and the City of Thunder Bay. I look forward to hearing the good news of the reopening of the James Street Swing Bridge in the near future.
Respectfully,
Your Name
cc: FWFN Chief & Council,
FWFN CEO, Michael Hardy,
Bill Gates-shareholder CN,
Vice President, Law, Oliver Chouc,
Premier, Kathleen Wynne,
MPP-Thunder Bay Superior North, Michael Gravelle,
MPP-Thunder Bay Atikokan, Bill Mauro,
MPP-Vauhan/Minister of Transportation, Steven Del Duca
