Fort William chief wants to solve bridge issue without court
New Chief Peter Collins says solution can be found without lawyers
The new chief of Fort William First Nation plans to meet with CN officials in the coming days about re-opening the James Street swing bridge.
The CN-owned crossing over the Kaministiquia River has been closed to vehicle and foot traffic since an October 2013 fire, though rail traffic continues.
Chief Peter Collins hopes to find a different path to a solution than the city of Thunder Bay, which decided in early February to take CN Rail to court.
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The city had said CN proposed to re-open the bridge, but permanently limit traffic flow to one-way. In return, the city would have to surrender its 1906 agreement with the railway, and Fort William First Nation would have to give up current and future land claims rights. CN has denied that the First Nation's land claims would be surrendered.
Mayor Keith Hobbs called it a bad offer made in bad faith.
Collins doesn't like the one-way traffic proposal either, but opposes legal action.
"That is not the right way to come up with a solution," he said Wednesday. "That'll drag on for time immemorial. I mean, is there a solution at the end of the day when we're all broke because we paid millions of dollars in legal fees? Absolutely not."
'Solution-driven guy'
Collins said he told CN he's a "solution-driven guy," who wants the bridge back in operation for the short-term. Once a short-term deal is reached, Collins said a long-term plan for a new bridge should be worked out by the city, the First Nation, the higher levels of government, the company and possibly the private sector.
He plans to meet CN in a private location outside the city.
Collins hasn't spoken with Hobbs about the issue yet, but plans to brief the mayor on the discussions after he meets with the railway.
"We need to come up with a solution without legal guys at that table and put it to paper," he said.