To the Editor,
Re: Vancouver Island residents have a say in rail’s future, Guest Comment, Oct. 30.
Graham Bruce has once again ignored the fact there is no commitment by any commercial venture to use the Island railway.
No forestry company, no mining enterprise, no sawmill and no transportation company has signed on the dotted line.
Yes, the Washington Transportation Group may have said it will be fully responsible for making the railway work, but at what cost?
Not the $3.2 million that taxpayers are being asked to put up over and above the $15 million that we will pay through the federal and provincial subsidies. The Island Corridor Foundation gets its money from us as well.
That means the WTG will spend 2.4 per cent of the total. And that is for a 25-year deal that does not guarantee anything. It might be determined there is no viable use for the railway, anyway.
Nostalgically, the railway is nice to have. Unfortunately, we can’t afford the nostalgia.
J. Sharpe
Nanaimo