11-18-2015, 05:08 PM
(11-18-2015, 03:55 PM)SammyOES Wrote: Are there options aside from expropriation?
I said "expropriation, even just the threat of it." There's also the principle of "moral suasion" that Ottawa uses to persuade chartered banks to do things they may not be keen to do followed by legislation if that's not sufficiently persuasive.
As for 92(10)a of the Constitution Act presumably Ottawa could enact legislation that would compel CN to improve access to passenger rail operators.
Quote:it seems like a poor message to private companies that might be considering investing in large scale infrastructure projects
I don't know the history of this rail line but if federal money was used to build it then Ottawa has a stronger case in exerting pressure on its current owners on how it's used.
A similar situation exists with telephone lines. Although Bell owns them, they got federal subsidies many years ago when they put them up. The CRTC uses that in part to justify forcing Bell (and the other telcos) to make those lines available to third-party carriers like Primus and TekSavvy on a tariffed basis.
So, admittedly naively, I don't see why Ottawa couldn't make CN "play nice" with MetroLinx, at least in principle. If so, just the threat of their intention to get involved might be enough to take Queen's Park more seriously.