First we were treated to a rather stupid idea that someone in the media was trying to peddle about supporting Mayor ‘Slippery Sam’ entry in the World Mayor contest. Now the big media cause is having Winnipeg named on a new version of the Monopoly Board game.
I suppose it’s one step better than being known as the murder capital of Canada (thank you Edmonton), or the car theft capital of Canada, but it’s like putting lipstick and a dress on a pig - it might make the pig feel better about itself, but it’ll still be a pig. Not that there’s anything wrong with that unless your dietary rules don’t include eating fecal encrusted animals.
Unfortunately, according to a Freep story slugged “Transcona residents face huge train delays” it looks like our city council has decided that governing our city is like a game of monopoly and they’re the new Railway Barons following a visit from Dipper Doer bureaucrat Ernie Gilroy, CEO - Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation & Manitoba Floodway Authority.
After reading the story all I could do is shake my head at the level of profound ignorance. First of all the CPR tracks are north of the Transcona residential area. Blocking the streets will have an effect on hundreds of residents and businesses in East Kildonan and Elmwood but it doesn’t affect Transcona residents. Lagimodiere Blvd is already accessible From Ravelstone via the Almey intersection just as it’s been ever since Lagimodiere Blvd was built, and I’m told it’s rarely used by any emergency vehicles - police, fire, or ambulance.
Railways such as the CPR are governed by Federal legislation. The Winnipeg city council doesn’t have the power or authority to alter any federal legislation governing railway operations. The subject of blocking crossing is covered by the Canadian Railway Operating Rules which states:
No part of a train or engine may be allowed to stand on any part of a public crossing at grade, for a longer period than five minutes, when vehicular or pedestrian traffic requires passage. Switching operations at such crossings, must not obstruct vehicular or pedestrian traffic for a longer period than five minutes at a time. When emergency vehicles require passage, employees must cooperate to clear public crossings at grade and private crossings as quickly as possible.
That’s not to say that the Federal Minister of Transportation, Lawrence Cannon doesn’t have the power to temporarily alter the enforcement/adherence of that rule by Transport Canada and the CPR, but that power is well beyond city council. There’s a good reason why the feds kicked in money for the floodway widening, and it had to do with the costs of altering infrastructure (bridges - railway and highway) tied to Federal jurisdiction. It wasn’t done because it was a free gift by the taxpayers of Canada.
It may well be that Gilroy and/or the CPR has filed for some form of exemption of the Railway Safety Act which covers construction projects, but the process provides for a public complaint and hearing process. This whole thing smells an awful lot like the Doer’s Dippers trying to pull a fast one, and City council cutting a deal with the CPR - remember the story about moving the yards?
Whatever is going on doesn’t add up. The CNR rail bridge just north of Highway 15 was replaced without that railway suffering any real operating problems, and there’s no real reason why the CPR can’t do it also - regardless of whatever tall tales Doer Dipper Gilroy wants the public - and Winnipeg City Council - to believe.
