The city is now looking to the law for validity on its 1906 agreement with CN.
Council rejected the company’s final offer to reopen the James Street Swing Bridge, tonight. The offer would have limited the Bridge to alternating one-way traffic, abort the 1906 agreement, and seen Fort William First Nation surrender all land claims.
Mayor Keith Hobbs says it was a bad deal made in bad faith, and that the offers have gone “from bad to worse.” He says the city sees no value in mediation, and that all the city is after is to show CN they have to fix the bridge in “perpetuity.” Hobbs adds waiting this long to take the matter to court is because the city had to do its due diligence first.
While there are contingencies for legal fees, Hobbs doesn’t know how long the legal process can go before exhausting the city’s reserves. He plans on asking the First Nation to share the expense. (File photo)
