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This article was published 14/1/2016 (1708 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Greg Selinger has tapped Jean Charest — a former Quebec premier and longtime ally — to lead a task force that could transform Winnipeg by relocating the city’s rail lines.

But the veteran politician tasked with helming the province’s rail relocation task force also offered soothing words for the rail companies who have been strategically coy about their willingness to move their yards or some of the 150 kilometres of tracks that criss-cross the city.

"This is about their success, making them even more productive and a bigger part of the community and allowing them to share in this vision of allowing the city of Winnipeg to change," said Charest of CN and CP Rail. "This project has the ability, and will, change the city of Winnipeg. When it’s done, this will not be the same city."

Charest said he recalls being at The Forks when it was first developed and noted the skepticism that greeted the major rail redevelopment project back then. He said the task force will consult with Winnipeggers to glean meaningful input.

The Selinger government has earmarked $400,000 for the task force, which could take two years to draft and will involve community consultation. Charest must assemble the other members, develop the terms of reference and then work on the feasibility study that will calculate the cost of moving the lines and yards, the savings that could be made by avoiding the construction of overpasses and other grade separations and the value of new development on the former rail lands.

Though some technical work has begun, it could take the task force two years to report back. Selinger said the task force will determine what lines may be relatively easy and quick to move in the short term, including BNSF’s tracks through River Heights and the West End or the CPR’s Winnipeg Beach line through the North End. The task force will also look at what is possible in the longer term, including moving the CP Rail yards in the centre of town, and what ideas don’t make logistical or economic sense.

"We’ll take a practical look at it to see what’s necessary," said Selinger. "We’re a city on the road to a million people. That could happen in the next 15 years. We’re a city with a mayor who’s committed himself to public transportation and all these things can come together as we look at this rail relocation feasibility study."

Manitobans go to the polls April 19, and Charest may just be beginning his work when a new provincial government is elected.

It’s also not clear whether the task force’s findings will alter the city’s plans to build a $155 million underpass at the CN tracks at Waverley Street or find a replacement for the Arlington Bridge over the CP Rail yards.

Mayor Brian Bowman hedged Thursday, saying the task force has the potential to affect some city decisions but that the city is still moving forward with infrastructure plans in the meantime.

Selinger first announced his hope to relocate rail lines in last fall’s throne speech. CN and CP Rail have been publicly lukewarm to the idea, which could cost several billion dollars, depending how many lines and yards are moved, how significant the environmental clean-up is and the nature of any new yards.

Selinger and Charest noted federal legislation mandates the government of Canada must help fund studies and municipal rail relocation, though the rules also mandates the rail companies cannot lose or gain by any relocation.

No one from CN Rail or CP Rail spoke at Thursday’s press conference at The Forks. A spokeswoman for CN said no one from the company was able to attend the event. CP sent several people but they were not available for comment after the event.

Brian Sweeney, BNSF’s assistant vice-president for government affairs, was on hand Thursday and said moving his firm’s seven kilometres of track outside the city is doable.

WAYNE GLOWACKI / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Former Quebec premier Jean Charest at the rail relocation task force news conference.

Asked how much it might cost and who pays, Sweeney said it was too early to tell.

"We haven’t begun to get that far down the road. The first step is figuring out what is necessary and what we’d like to accomplish and then we get into what it will take to get that done," he said.

Sweeney cautioned that maintaining service to customers on BNSF’s line is a top priority, but he said moving the tracks could improve interchanges with other rail lines and capacity.

Early assumption is North End rail yards will move: Q and A

FP: Winnipeg is a very particular place, and these rail lines run through some unique neighbourhoods. What do you know about Winnipeg and the neighbourhoods that might be affected?

Charest: I’m going the start with the assumption that I know what I don’t know. And it’s one of the reasons why Premier Selinger asked me to assume this position, because he wanted someone who would come to this project with a new pair of eyes and not assume that things are one way or another. This is a city that’s always been a logistical hub for Canada, whether it’s for airports or certainly for rail. It’s a key logistical centre in terms of agriculture for the country, and I’ve been in the city enough to know how much the rail lines are a huge part of its urban makeup. As we look to the future of the city of Winnipeg, if we want to plan it and make it optimal, we have to figure out where the rail lines fit in all of this. It makes imminent sense that we move the rail lines to a location where they will be more effective and will allow the city to develop itself more efficiently. I know the lines sort of divide the city between north and south, between the more affluent neighbourhoods and some neighbourhoods that are less affluent. So this creates a huge opportunity to revisit how these neighbourhoods are organized and what potential there is to revitalize them. But that is something that will have to be done with the communities. It’s not something that anyone can impose upon them. That’s why this process is so important, so they’re part of the decision-making.

FP: Will there be public meetings? How will you get the public’s input?

Charest: Those questions are open. The order of work for us is to define the terms of reference, and that was left open until I was officially named. So that will proceed fairly rapidly. But then there will be advisory groups formed, some of them technical, some community groups, and then we’re very open to what the consultations can be. But we want it to be, in the end, meaningful. We want people to feel they’ve been sincerely part of something and that they’ve had an opportunity to say their piece.

FP: Both CN and CP are notoriously difficult to deal with, especially for municipal governments. How will you get them on board? How will you deal with them?

Charest: Rail companies all over the world are notorious for being companies that will fight hard for their turf, and you can sort of understand, when you know the history, why. But the rail companies don’t live in a bubble, either. This is a world that has changed a lot. And the example that comes to everyone’s mind is Lac-Mégantic, which I know very, very well. It’s close to the place where I was born, and my mother was born in a village 10 kilometres from there, called Bury. So the rail companies are dealing with these issues as we are dealing with them. The city of Winnipeg has changed. It’s not what it was 20 years ago, and the companies need to deal with this. I think the companies are going to be very engaged in this. They want, and legitimately so, solutions that will allow them to be effective and productive, and we want them to be. We want them to continue to exist and create jobs.

FP: How do you make sure the province hasn’t given away its leverage? Now the rail companies know the province wants them to move. Won’t they milk it for all it’s worth and get new state-of-the-art hubs out of this that they normally ought to pay for themselves?

Charest: There will be pressure on them to do the right thing, as there is on other partners. The companies will have to co-operate in this, and I have every reason to believe they will. I know they will. There’s also pressure on them to be able to deal with new safety issues and issues related to quality of life that people want. There are things today that people may not have demanded 30 years ago, whether it’s air pollution or noise. The alternative to not dealing with that isn’t very attractive for them. They are members of this community, and I know from experience having been in politics that they want to do what’s right for the community. I’m confident they will be very good partners going ahead.

FP: Are you open to the possibility the big one, the CP rail yards through the North End, ought to just stay put, that maybe it isn’t such a great idea to move them?

Charest: I don’t anticipate that outcome. It’s very early on, but I’m working on the assumption that the CP yards will be moving because of the presence they have, the footprint they have.

FP: What happens if the government changes in April? What happens to your role and the task force and the latitude you’ve been given?

Charest: One of the reasons I accepted is I know a number of the people involved. I’ve known Mayor (Brian) Bowman for a while. I know (CentrePort president and CEO) Diane Gray. I know the people at the business council. I have every confidence this is a very consensual project. This is not the kind of project that is going to divide the political parties. There’s no reason why anyone would disagree with what we’re doing, and I will work with whoever is there. The government of Manitoba has asked me to come on board, and I will be at their service, whoever that government is.

maryagnes.welch@freepress.mb.ca