27 February 2006
ICF, CPR Announce Historic $236 Million Agreement
Vancouver Island - The Island Corridor Foundation has reached an historic agreement with
Canadian Pacific Railway which has seen the CPR owned Rail Corridor donated to the Foundation in perpetuity. The agreement is valued at
close to 236 million dollars.
The Foundation is a not-for-profit organization incorporated in 2004 as a partnership between local Governments and First
Nations along the Corridor.
The result of more than three years of negotiations, the ICF has brought the Corridor under local control for the first time since 1883.
The agreement includes Canadian Pacific Railway's portion of the 139-mile-long rail Corridor from Victoria to Courtenay.
In addition to the 651 hectares (1,610 acres) it also includes six historic railway stations in Duncan, Ladysmith, Nanaimo, Parksville,
Qualicum Beach, and Courtenay. Canadian Pacific has provided seed money as well as the donation of their E&N holdings to ensure the
financial viability of the Foundation.
ICF is currently negotiating with Rail America's E&N Railway Company (1998) Ltd for the acquisition of the remaining lands and with
a new rail operator.
E&N Rail customers can rest assured service will continue without interruption.
Peake says community support for bringing the vision to a successful conclusion was essential, "Thanks to the hard work of a great
many people who gave us the wisdom of their business expertise, their experience and their energy, we have brought the dream of owning
the Corridor to a successful conclusion. Today is one of the great days of my life. But, stay tuned, this is just the beginning."
Speaking on behalf of First Nations along the Corridor, Foundation Co-Chair Judith Sayers, and Chief of the Hupacasath
Nation says. "Preserving the Corridor and rail service is important to First Nations because of the economic, cultural, and
recreational potential it has for our communities along the Corridor. We are very grateful to CPR for their generous donation of this
valuable asset."
"This was a very large and complex undertaking. The agreement on the CPR section of the Corridor is valued a close to 236 million
dollars," says Mary Ashley, the Board's Comox-Strathcona Regional District Representative. "Negotiations were
extremely complex and at times tough. Even though CPR and the Society had the same objective, there were literarily hundreds of issues
that had to be negotiated one clause at a time to everyone's satisfaction. As a Board, we always kept one thing in mind, if the Corridor
would ever be broken-up it would remain broken. If lost... it's lost forever."
As this new chapter begins in the long history of the E&N our vision for tourism, for energy and data transmission, for adventure,
and for commerce represents real opportunity for communities along the Corridor.
View Royal Mayor and ICF Board member Graham Hill says the society has taken both an inclusive and business-like approach
to bringing the deal to a successful conclusion. "The reason we've been successful is: we have been persistent and put
together a first class negotiating team. In addition, our financial situation is excellent and our planning is well thought out."
Hill continues, "Our success has also been built on having forged excellent working relationships with First Nations, regional
districts and other supportive communities.
These same principles will be employed as we work with stakeholders to promote business, tourism, recreation, and cultural opportunities
and to connect communities along the Corridor."
Today's announcement was the result of hard work, good will, generosity, good business practices and, above all, a vision to bring this
Corridor back to the people of Vancouver Island. Partnerships were forged that focused on the wellbeing of communities and their futures.
Today begins a new chapter and a new vision for the corridor and the communities bordering it.
Backgrounder
The Island Corridor Foundation is a non-profit charity incorporated in 2004 as a partnership between local Governments
and First Nations along the E&N railway land. It came about through the vision of the Cowichan Tribes, Mayors and Councilors from
Vancouver Island communities, and railway enthusiasts, who did not want to see the corridor divided and sold off in parcels to be lost
forever to the people of the Island.
The Society
Directors:
- Co-Chair - Mayor Jack Peake, Lake Cowichan, Cowichan Regional District representative;
- Co-Chair - Chief Judith Sayers, Hupacasath Nation;
- Mayor Ken McRae, Port Alberni, Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District representative;
- Mayor Graham Hill, Town of View Royal, Capital Regional District representative;
- Chief Terry Sampson, Chemainus Band;
- Joe Stanhope, Chair, Nanaimo Regional District;
- Mary Ashley, Former Mayor Campbell River, Comox-Strathcona Regional District Representative;
- Councilor Stuart Hardy, Comox Band;
- Philomena Alphonse, Cowichan Tribes Representative.
Management:
- Executive Director, Bill McElroy;
- Consultants:
- David Colledge, Rail Consultant;
- Rick Evans, Rail Consultant;
- Jon Lampman, Legal Advisor;
- Doug Backhouse, Community Planning advisor;
- Ian Macaulay, Communications Advisor.
The E&N Railway – A Brief History
Esquimalt and Nanaimo (E&N) Railway was incorporated on 27 Sep 1883 by Victoria coal baron Sir Robert Dunsmuir, to
support the coal and lumber industry and the Royal Navy base at Esquimalt. Construction began on 30 Apr 1884, and on
13 Aug 1886, Prime Minister Sir John A. MacDonald drove the last railway spike into the ground. The initial rail operation
ran for 115 kilometres from Esquimalt to Nanaimo, hence the original name of the company. In 1888, the line was extended to the City of
Victoria.
In 1905, Robert Dunsmuir's son James sold the E&N Railway to the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR), who extended E&N to Lake
Cowichan, Port Alberni, Parksville, Qualicum Beach, and Courtenay. At its peak, the E&N Railway had 45 stations on the main line, 8
on the Port Alberni line, and 36 stations on the Cowichan line. Today only about 25 stations remain, with the majority unused and in a
state of disrepair.
In 1953, CPR discontinued the Port Alberni passenger service. In 1979, VIA Rail assumed operational responsibility for the E&N
Railway, but CPR retained ownership of the land. However, in 1998, CPR sold the east-west corridor – Parksville to Port
Alberni – to Rail America, and entered into an operating agreement for freight operations. At that time approximately 8,500 carloads
of forest and paper products, minerals, and chemicals were transported by rail each year.
In recent years a number of changes have occurred in rail freight transportation, most notably Norske's announcement in 2001 that they
would discontinue using rail freight service, opting for truck freight service instead. With the loss of this significant revenue
stream, Rail America consequently announced its intention to cease operation and leave Vancouver Island.
This led to considerable concern about the fate of the corridor and the future of rail service on Vancouver Island. In 2003, Cowichan
Tribes had the foresight to see the potential for preserving the corridor and invited interested parties to a meeting to discuss the
situation. Subsequent discussions led to the formation of the Island Corridor Foundation in 2004, when it was also registered as a
Charity able to issue tax receipts.
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