Correspondence from Mayor Helps re: Revitalizing Island Rail

March 13, 2019

Dear Premier Horgan,

I am writing on behalf of Victoria City Council to request favourable consideration and resolutions of support to revitalize Island rail.

At the February 7, 2019 Council Meeting, Council approved the following resolution:

Resolution: Revitalizing Island Rail

WHEREAS one of the conditions of the original Order-in-Council establishing the Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) now Island Corridor Foundation (ICF) railway corridor is that if the corridor is no longer needed or used for railway purposes, it goes back to the original owner;

AND WHEREAS assembling a similar multi-modal corridor connecting the Alberni Inlet to the Comox Valley to Greater Victoria in the context of current land values and land uses would be impossible to replicate;

AND WHEREAS repair of the railway infrastructure can only reasonably be accomplished by way of capital investment from senior levels of government, in co-operation with First Nations and local governments and respecting first nations interests

AND WHEREAS rail transport and a parallel trail system are integral sustainable transportation options for Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples in the context of climate change, including the option of electrified rail for the sustainable movement of people and goods on the island;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Province of British Columbia take immediate actions to provide sufficient funding in a timely manner to restore the railway infrastructure of Vancouver Island and ensure that the corridor remains intact and available to future generations of Indigenous and non-indigenous peoples.

We look forward to your support on this matter.

Sincerely,

Lisa Helps Victoria Mayor

cc. Honourable Claire Trevena, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Vancouver Island MLA’s The Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities (AVICC) Annual Convention AVICC Member Local Governments