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The president of a Windsor-based railway company is concerned that MP Brian Masse’s private members’ bill to establish a national urban park could threaten service through a local rail corridor.
Essex Terminal Railway (ETR), which connects Windsor to Amherstburg through LaSalle, operates along tracks that fall within the coordinates of Bill C-248, which would establish the Ojibway National Urban Park.
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“We have concerns about how the bill is going to impact rail access to our valued customers that are dependent on rail transportation,” ETR president Tony De Thomasis told the Windsor Star.
According to Parks Canada, if the bill is passed in its current form, the targeted lands will be transferred to the federal government.
That means any private, municipal, or provincial infrastructure in the bill’s boundaries, from sewer lines to roadway allowances — and in this case, part of the rail corridor — become subject to the Canada National Parks Act and its regulations.
De Thomasis said he’s unaware of the bill’s specifics, but said the company has operated the tracks next to Ojibway Parkway for many years.
He said ETR offers daily service to customers in the lumber, steel, agricultural, liquid petroleum gas and other industrial sectors which have access to the Detroit River and move cargo to the world.
“Without that rail access, there’s potentially a significant negative impact on how they move their product to the market,” said De Thomasis. “Rail plays a critical part in moving commodities and cargo that arrive in Windsor-Essex through the Great Lakes.”
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While Masse (NDP — Windsor West) is looking to establish the park through his private members’ bill, MP Irek Kusmierczyk (L — Windsor-Tecumseh) is trying to make it happen through a parallel process with Parks Canada.
Since 2021, the agency has been working with the City of Windsor, local First Nations, and community partners to determine park boundaries and address their concerns.
Kusmierczyk said the Senate has raised some serious issues that need answers, such as privately owned parcels of land and conflicting business interests within the bill’s proposed boundaries.
“That shipping hub is an absolutely vital piece of our economy,” Kusmierczyk said. “You also have Windsor Salt that has mining rights there. Through the Parks Canada process, you have those consultations and discussions before anything is set in stone.”
The Senate’s standing committee on energy, the environment and natural resources held its second hearing on Masse’s bill on May 23.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens, Caldwell First Nation Chief Mary Duckworth, Friends of Ojibway committee chair Mike Fisher, and the University of Windsor’s National Urban Park Hub co-lead Anneke Smit testified.
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During the hearing, Dilkens proposed an amendment to introduce a streamlined process for boundary adjustments to accommodate the addition and removal of land.
“It is critical for the bill to address the management of existing infrastructure within the park’s boundaries,” said Dilkens.
“To mitigate potential complications and assure continued access to essential infrastructure — such as storm sewers, utilities, and transportation corridors — we propose amending the bill to exclude lands containing such infrastructure from the scope of the park.”
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Senators also expressed concerns about navigating the operation of Windsor Salt — a mine producing up to three million metric tons of salt annually — which works underground within the proposed park area covered by Bill C-248.
The Windsor Star made several attempts to contact Windsor Salt for comment but did not hear back.
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