Federal officials have confirmed that the Ottawa–Montreal corridor will be the first segment to move forward as part of Alto’s planned high-speed rail network, marking a key milestone in what is being billed as one of the largest infrastructure projects in Canadian history.

At an announcement in Gatineau, Quebec on Friday (December 12), federal transport minister Steven MacKinnon and Alto president and CEO Martin Imbleau said the initial phase of the project will see high-speed rail built between Ottawa and Montreal, a route of roughly 200 kilometres spanning Ontario and Quebec, including a stop in Laval.

According to MacKinnon, it is “logical” to begin with the Ottawa–Montreal segment as it is the shortest and straightest segment of the corridor, since high-speed trains “don’t like curves.” It is also intended to deliver early benefits to travellers and communities while allowing work to begin simultaneously in both provinces. Construction on the segment is expected to begin in 2029.

“This announcement marks an important step forward in delivering faster, cleaner, and more connected transportation for Canadians,” MacKinnon said in a media release. “By working closely with Alto and our partners across governments and communities, we are laying the groundwork for a high-speed rail network that will put Canada firmly on the global map for modern rail innovation, strengthening the economy, creating good jobs, and connecting people across this vital corridor.”

The Ottawa–Montreal segment is part of a broader vision for Canada’s first high-speed rail network, which would eventually stretch approximately 1,000 kilometres from Toronto to Quebec City. Planned stops between Toronto and Quebec City include Peterborough, Ottawa, Laval, Montreal, and Trois-Rivières.

Trains are expected to reach speeds of up to 300 km/h, cutting travel times in half and connecting regions that are home to nearly half of Canada’s population. For example, the estimated travel time between Peterborough and Toronto would be 40 minutes — 45 per cent faster than the 90 minutes required when travelling by road with normal traffic.

According to Alto, which is the Crown corporation overseeing the project, focusing on the shorter and cross-provincial Ottawa–Montreal segment first will help accelerate delivery and build the skilled workforce needed to expand the network to Toronto in the west and Quebec City in the east.

“Undertaking one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Canada’s history requires multi-stage planning,” said Imbleau. “Focusing first on the Ottawa–Montreal segment is a logical step to optimize the project, accelerate delivery, and generate tangible local economic benefits.”

Imbleau added that the approach will allow Alto to mobilize teams more quickly in both provinces while continuing work on the remaining segments of the corridor. With each segment estimated to take six to eight years to build, the entire Toronto–Québec City rail corridor would be completed in the early 2040s.

Beginning in January, Alto will launch a three-month consultation process with the general public as the first phase of a longer-term consultation that will inform the selection of preferred routes and station locations, with a second public consultation process early in 2027.

The initial consultation process will include an online engagement platform, virtual sessions, and in-person open houses, including one scheduled to take place in Peterborough at McDonnel Street Community Centre on Thursday, February 26. Full details on consultation dates and participation options are available on Alto’s website at www.altotrain.ca/en/public-consultation/.

In addition to the public consultations, Alto will also continue engagement with Indigenous communities, municipalities, and public institutions throughout design, environmental studies, construction, and long-term operations. Alto says the project will be guided by commitments to reconciliation and sustainability.

The Canadian government has identified the high-speed rail project as a transformative national initiative and confirmed it will receive support from the Major Projects Office, which means the project will begin four years earlier than the original timeline. Pre-procurement activities are expected to begin in 2026, with Alto and its partner Cadence providing information to industry participants.

The federal government estimates the project could boost Canada’s GDP by up to $35 billion, create approximately 51,000 jobs during construction, and support tens of thousands more across sectors including steel manufacturing, concrete production, electrical systems, digital technologies, and skilled trades.

Beyond direct economic impacts, the project is also expected to boost tourism, support more affordable housing development along the Toronto–Québec City corridor, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by potentially removing 100,000 cars from roads.

With the support of a $6 million donor-funded investment, Peterborough Regional Health Centre (PRHC) is now equipped with three of the best interventional radiology suites in the province.

On Tuesday afternoon (December 9), the PRHC Foundation hosted donors, media, and dignitaries including Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal for a celebration and tour of the hospital’s three interventional radiology suites.

The opening marks a milestone as the largest investment made so far as part of the PRHC Foundation’s $70 million Campaign for PRHC.

“I often speak about the impacts and lasting joy that philanthropy brings, and today is a perfect example of how donor support is directly changing the face of patient care in our region,” said PRHC Foundation president and CEO Lesley Heighway before the tour.

“Because of this community’s extraordinary generosity, PRHC now has three fully equipped interventional radiology suites. With three suites, the team now treats more patients, more complex conditions, more quickly and safely.”

The investment supported the expansion and upgrade of two 16-year-old existing suites with state-of-the-art technology, as well as the creation of a brand-new suite designed for rapid, high-demand minimally invasive procedures. It also included the expansion of the preparation and recovery area, which most hospitals don’t have, from 10 to 14 beds.

The technology in the suites allows interventional radiologists to perform minimally invasive surgeries using real-time imaging such as CT scans, fluoroscopy, or ultrasound to steer needles, guidewires, and catheters into small incisions in the skin or through blood vessels.

The process is used to find and fix issues just about anywhere in the body for a wide range of procedures including draining infections, doing a biopsy for cancer, or stopping a hemorrhage. If surgery is too high risk for a patient, interventional radiology could be a safer and faster option.

PRHC president and CEO Dr. Lynn Mikula explained that the regional hospital is one of the busiest interventional radiology centres in the province, serving more than 300,000 people across Peterborough and surrounding communities.

“These donor-funded upgrades have helped us recruit an additional interventional radiologist, increasing our team from four to five highly skilled specialists who are all leaders in their field,” said Dr. Mikula.

“They previously performed over 6,000 procedures per year and, with the increased capacity of these suites, we’re able to care for more patients, 20 to 25 on a typical day, while also reducing wait times.”

PRHC interventional radiologist Dr. Fady Abdelsayed said interventional radiology is often referred to as “the best kept secret in medicine,” because it is so critical though not as well known as other areas of patient care.

“The advanced capabilities of the suites allow us to take on more complex procedures, with minimally invasive techniques with greater safety and precision,” he said. “We can treat more patients, which will reduce wait time, and the technologies help us push the boundaries of what’s possible.”

Joined by PRHC charge technologist Julie Stinson, Dr. Abdelsayed led a tour of the newest of the three interventional radiology suites. The team demonstrated the C-arm fluoroscopy machine which provides real-time images on state-of-the-art screens that guide the surgeries. Stinson also provided demonstrations of some of the features of upgraded software.

Dr. Abdelsayed explained that the suites are brighter and much bigger to accommodate more specialists in the room, are designed to allow them to work from both sides of the table, and are equipped with brand-new safety protections for the team.

“It’s touched many locations in the hospital and our volumes have been exponentially increasing,” said Dr. Abdelsayed of interventional radiology.

The interventional radiologists are on a 24/7 rotation, which allows the team to do routine and more complex procedures on weekends, in the middle of the night, and without having to transport the patient to other hospitals.

“Patients don’t have to leave their family or go through this difficult time on their own and their family doesn’t need to be inconvenienced,” Dr. Adbelsayed said.

As government funding does not support the upgrade or advancements of hospital technology, Dr. Abdelsayed said “we’re very lucky to have one of the largest interventional radiology departments in the province” thanks to donor support.

The next priority area for the hospital is introducing the region’s first state-of-the-art hybrid operating room.

The technology will revolutionize vascular care by allowing clinical teams to perform multiple open and minimally invasive operations on the same patient, on the same day, in the same room.

“It’s a more advanced level of technology to support the surgeons to deliver better care and more advanced procedures close to home instead of sending people away,” said Dr. Mikula. “It’s something that we desperately want to get going as our next innovation here at PRHC.”

A Peterborough neighbourhood association has discovered you really can’t fight city hall — unless you have very deep pockets.

Northcrest Neighbours for Fair Process (NNFP) announced on Wednesday (December 10) that it is dropping its legal challenge against the City of Peterborough’s use of strong mayor powers to expedite Brock Mission’s transitional housing project.

The decision to withdraw the challenge comes after an Ontario Superior Court judge ruled on November 20 that, before the case could proceed, the association must first post a $30,000 security deposit within 30 days to cover the legal costs of the city and Brock Mission.

In addition to requiring the $30,000 security deposit, Justice Susan Woodley also ruled the city and Brock Mission could seek additional security deposits from NNFP as the case proceeds and costs increase.

As a volunteer-run resident association without substantial financial backing, NNFP says the required $30,000 deposit makes continuing the case impossible.

“We’re devastated,” says NNFP chair Sarah McNeilly in a media release. “This ruling prevents our case from ever being heard on its merits. It’s a travesty, in my opinion, that a multi-million-dollar municipal corporation has used vast legal resources — funded by taxpayers — to force ordinary, rate-paying residents out of court.”

Back on February 3, Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal issued a statement that he would, in deference to a request from Brock Mission, be using his strong mayor powers to expedite a proposed six-storey 52-unit transitional housing complex at 738 Chemong Road adjacent to Cameron House, a women’s shelter also operated by Brock Mission.

Under the strong mayor powers of the Municipal Act provided by the provincial government in 2023 to 45 municipalities, including Peterborough, heads of council can propose municipal by-laws under provincial legislation — including the Municipal Act and the Planning Act — if they believe the proposed by-laws could potentially advance the provincial priority of housing.

In his statement, Mayor Leal said he would use his strong mayor powers to amend the city’s zoning by-law to allow the project to proceed and would exempt the project from the existing site plan requirements, a process that ensures development projects comply with municipal policies and minimize negative impacts on the environment and surrounding community.

The mayor noted Peterborough’s “critical need for housing,” adding he will do “whatever is within my authority as mayor to support those (housing) projects moving forward for the benefit of our community.”

Fast forward to the February 24 meeting of city council where Mayor Leal made good on his vow. While seven of the 11 members of council voted against Mayor Leal’s motion, three councillors — Gary Baldwin, Kevin Duguay and Lesley Parnell — joined the mayor in supporting it. For a strong mayor powers motion to pass, only one third of a council (which can include the head of council) must support it.

During the heated and often confrontational five-hour public meeting under the Planning Act, both city councillors and the 15 public delegations, which included McNeilly, were forbidden from addressing the use of strong mayor powers — only the proposed zoning by-law amendment — and the normal rules of procedure for council meetings were suspended under the strong mayor powers legislation.

“I care about the homeless, but I have to ask a fundamental question: do we still care about democracy?” McNeilly said during the meeting. “Because that’s what at stake here, not transitional housing. This is about whether we, as a city, as a council, as a people, still believe in the bedrocks of democracy.”

In response to council’s decision, NNFP was formed in March as an unincorporated association to represent approximately 100 local residents of the Teacher’s College and Brookdale neighbourhoods in Peterborough’s Northcrest Ward. NNFP subsequently announced its intention to issue a legal challenge of the decision, providing a statement to kawarthaNOW in early April that the proposed project is being “rushed through without proper oversight, transparency, or consultation.”

NNFP’s argument is that Brock Mission’s proposed transitional housing build doesn’t qualify as “housing” within the definition of the provincial rules governing the use of strong mayor powers. The group argues that the building “more closely resembles an institutional facility (in terms of its planned use), therefore falling beyond the scope of strong mayor powers conferred by the Municipal Act.”

While NNFP says it supports transitional housing, neighbours have raised serious concerns about the proposed project’s close proximity to Cameron House, a long-established women’s homeless shelter and transitional housing facility serving some of the most vulnerable women in the city, noting that placing a large co-ed transitional facility immediately beside an existing women’s shelter posed obvious safety issue and trauma-informed-care concerns for the women sheltering there.

“Cameron House has been operating in our neighbourhood for decades,” says McNeilly. “Rather than address the risks, Brock Mission and the city floated the idea of relocating Cameron House entirely. That suggestion alone shows how little consideration was given to the women already living on the property.”

NNFP created a separate incorporated entity, Northcrest Neighbours for Fair Process Ltd., for the sole purpose of filing the court application and retaining legal counsel. As NNFP chair, McNeilly volunteered to be the sole director and member of the incorporated entity named in the proceedings.

After NNFP moved forward with the legal challenge, the City of Peterborough responded by filing a notice of motion on May 27 for security of costs in the amount of $10,000.

“The Applicant is a shell corporation without operations and it does not have any assets in Ontario or elsewhere to pay the costs of the Respondent,” stated the motion from city solicitor Scott Seabrooke. “The Applicant was incorporated for the purpose of insulating Sarah McNeilly from being exposed to a cost award in her personal capacity and thus there is good reason to believe that the Applicant will try to avoid paying any order for costs.”

In addition, the city’s motion claimed that NNFP’s legal challenge “was brought for an ulterior motive, namely Sarah McNeilly’s personal opposition” to the section of the Municipal Act that defines strong mayor powers “which she views as undemocratic.”

As an alternative to $10,000 in security costs, the city requested an order “piercing the corporate veil” — a legal concept where a court disregards the separate legal entity of a corporation and holds its shareholders, directors, or officers personally liable for the corporation’s actions.

After the motion, NNFP launched a GoFundMe campaign appealing to the public for help with legal costs, which raised over $13,000.

During the summer, NNFP also filed a motion for injunctive relief in response to the removal of mature trees from the 738 Chemong Road property. The motion essentially asked the court to prevent construction from proceeding until a decision was made on whether the zoning by-law amendment made under strong mayor powers was valid.

Also during the summer, Brock Mission was added as a respondent to the legal application.

In the fall, the city filed a second motion for security of costs seeking $30,000 from NNFP — triple the amount originally requested.

“The city chose to play legal hardball with its own taxpayers — an approach more often seen in corporate litigation than in matters involving residents acting in the public interest,” McNeilly says.

NNFP, the City of Peterborough, and Brock Mission appeared before Ontario Superior Court Justice Susan Woodley on October 1 to argue their motions. It was decided that the city’s security for costs motion would be heard first and, following the release of the judge’s decision on that motion, either NNFP’s motion for injunctive relief or the entire case would proceed.

On November 20, Justice Woodley released her decision, which supported the city’s motion for $30,000 in security costs.

She found that NNFP met the criteria for a security for costs order because it is a nominal corporate applicant with no income, assets, or business interests, incorporated solely to bring the legal challenge forward, and that the group provided no evidence that it or its members could satisfy a future costs award.

She also found that NNFP failed to demonstrate impecuniosity (having a lack of funds), which would have required a disclosure of all income, assets, expenses, liabilities, and borrowing ability with supporting documentation.

Justice Woodley determined that, since NNFP has neither assets nor proof of impecuniosity for paying potential legal costs, it would be required to demonstrate a strong likelihood of success of its case based on the merits — a threshold she concluded NNFP could not meet.

“While I find the Applicant’s argument to be interesting, I do not find it to be compelling,” she wrote, noting that she was unconvinced by the group’s argument that the transitional housing project was “institutional” rather than “residential.”

She also stated that the Municipal Act contains an immunity cause for decisions made using strong mayor powers if a decision was made legally and in good faith, and observed that Mayor Leal exercised his legal authority and acted in good faith when invoking strong mayor powers.

Justice Woodley also found that access to justice as not compromised, as the members of NNFP could have brought the challenge personally but chose instead not to disclose any assets or assume financial risk.

The judge also rejected the notion that the case constituted public interest litigation, characterizing it instead as a local dispute driven by neighbouring property owners concerned about potential impacts on property values and lifestyle.

“Municipalities and charitable/not-for-profit organizations should not be unnecessarily exposed to litigation by nominal corporate applicants simply because the implementation of municipal powers is questioned,” Justice Woodley wrote. “Such litigation does not necessarily qualify as public interest litigation, and this is especially true in the present case where the merits are questionable and there is evidence that any costs and/or damages assessed will be unrecoverable.”

Because she found the merits of the case questionable and that any costs order would likely be unrecoverable, Justice Woodley ruled that the interests of justice would be served by requiring NNFP to post $30,000 in security within 30 days of the order, and also allowed the respondents to seek additional security costs from NNFP as the case proceeds and costs increase.

According to NNFP, the outcome “reflects a broader democratic failure: a tax-funded municipal corporation used its legal might to overwhelm citizens with limited means.”

“Justice is expensive, and the city knows it,” McNeilly says. “If everyday people cannot afford to challenge their local government — especially when democracy and public trust are at stake — then access to justice becomes a privilege reserved for the wealthy.”

NNFP says that, because it is unable to afford to proceed with the case, the mayor’s use of strong mayor powers will go untested “and legitimate questions about governance, transparency, and due process will never be reviewed by a judge.”

Despite being forced to discontinue its legal challenge, NNFP says it will continue advocating for fairness and accountability in municipal decision-making.

“Our goal has always been simple: to ensure that major decisions affecting our city are made lawfully, transparently, and democratically,” McNeilly says. “We remain committed to that mission.”

With files from Paul Rellinger.