James Street bridge carolling event aims to coax CN with kindness

A Thunder Bay man hopes children singing Christmas carols on a broken bridge will convince CN to reopen the vehicular link between Fort William First Nation and the city of Thunder Bay.

Tony McGuire planned the carol-singing event for Tuesday at noon on the Thunder Bay side of the bridge that has been closed to cars and trucks since a fire in October 2013. 

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Politicians from both the city and the First Nation have failed in their attempts to push CN to reopen bridge.

"I heard from a child they were worried Santa Claus might not be able to make it across the bridge, so I said let's sing a Christmas carol rather than doing something overtly political," McGuire said.

McGuire said the impact of the bridge closure goes beyond child's play. He said the increased time it takes emergency vehicles to Fort William First Nation is a real concern for a friend whose mother is ill.

"[If] she needs immediate attention from an ambulance, this whole bridge crisis could cause my buddy to lose his mother," he said.

McGuire, who owns a media production company, plans to make a video of the event and deliver it to the CN office, along with some Christmas treats. He said he's optimistic the railway will catch the spirit of the season.

"People feel during Christmas that they're allowed to be nice. So it's unique, in that regard, in that people want to be nice, they want to make change they wouldn't normally do — and they don't feel allowed during the rest of the year," he said.

McGuire said the bridge closure has been "a hindrance and an annoyance to the economy and it's been a divisive factor. It's become a racist issue and I'm really just sick of it. As a Thunder Bay Aboriginal, I just want to see the end of it."