March 9, 2026
Dear Right Honourable Mark Carney, Prime Minister of Canada and the Honourable Steven MacKinnon, Minister of Transport, Government of Canada,
We are deeply concerned about the impact of ALTO’s proposed High Speed Rail (HSR) on Lennox and Addington County – people, homes and property, towns, businesses, agriculture, our watershed and water supply, and on all aspects of the environment.
Bill C-15 will allow the government to fast-track land acquisition, potentially without traditional public hearings, leaving landowners with little recourse and uncertainty about compensation. Farmers, businesses, and rural residents fear their land could be severed by the rail corridor, reducing usability and value. ALTO’s proposed HSR corridor is a continuously fenced, impassable rail line. At 300 km//hr, level crossings are not possible and with only a small number of expected overpasses/underpasses, there would be irrevocable harm to rural cohesion.
County and rural roads would be cut off, negatively impacting every aspect of daily life. EMS (Ambulance, Fire, Police) response times would significantly increase, resulting in poorer outcomes (cardiac events and trauma) and unnecessary loss of life. Reduced routes will lead to increased travel time to workplaces, schools, grocery stores, medical clinics, and other essential services. Local businesses will suffer or close.
Road closures will result in re-routing traffic thereby causing heavy use of rural roads not designed for increased travel demands. These closures will alter snow plowing routes impeding efficient snow removal. More daily traffic in combination with heavy machinery and loads of aggregate and other rail-building materials will impact travel times and road safety. Access to recreational trails, snowmobiling routes, and hockey arenas may be impeded.
The Napanee Limestone Plain Key Biodiversity Area, in Eastern Ontario, spans 2000 square kilometers and features grasslands, wetlands, and the rare and globally significant alvar ecosystem. The area is critical to its grassland and alvar bird populations including several species that are endangered and at-risk, including the majority of Ontario’s population of breeding pairs of Loggerhead Shrikes. Further, the proposed HSR corridor will threaten many sensitive wetlands, including provincially significant wetlands which support biodiversity, filter pollutants, and act as critical carbon storage areas.
There are serious hydrology and watershed impacts. The proposed Southern route lies within a downstream watershed position where five rivers – the Cataraqui, Napanee, Salmon, Moira, and Trent Rivers drain south into Lake Ontario. The elevated rail embankment could act as a barrier to natural drainage in some areas, causing flooding, changes in the water table, and risks to groundwater and wells.
Estimated project costs are between $60 to $120 billion with little benefit to small towns and rural Ontario where the train does not stop. The cost of maintaining the HSR infrastructure (i.e. overpasses, road upgrades) will likely fall on local municipalities leading to reduced municipal services and increased taxes.
Clear communication and transparency on the part of ALTO and the federal government has been sorely lacking. The short time frame for public consultation does not allow for meaningful consideration of the myriad impacts of the proposed HSR. The process for participation (in particular the ALTO interactive map) is unclear and inaccessible.
We call on the Prime Minister, the Minister of Transport, and all parliamentarians and Senate Members testto halt the proposed ALTO HSR. This project will have grave consequences for Lennox and Addington County and all affected areas of rural Eastern Ontario and Quebec.
Sincerely,
Lennox and Addington Stewardship Council
Friends of the Salmon River
Robert Storring FRI, Broker, Century 21 Lanthornt Real Estate Ltd., Napanee, ON
Tamworth Veterinary Services, Tamworth, ON
Hannah Funeral Homes, Ltd. Napanee & Tamworth
Donna Poirier, CPA, Newburgh, ON
Rogues Hollow Antiques, Newburgh, ON
Matthews Studio, Tamworth, ON
Malcolm Fitz Doseger Real Estate Group, Napanee, ON
Newburgh Pharmacy, Newburgh, ON
Sage Restoration, Tamworth, ON
Bar Electric, Centreville, ON
Reinink Family Farms, Desmond, ON
Neillcrest Farms, Erinsville, ON
Vanness Automotive, Tamworth, ON
S’Cooper’s, Tamworth, ON
Whalen Excavating, Newburgh, ON
Book Shop Annex, Tamworth, ON
Stone Mills Storage, Newburgh, ON
Stone Mills Landscape Products, Newburgh, ON
Robert Wright Books, ABAC, Tamworth, ON
Save Stone Mills
Tamworth Bookshop, Tamworth, ON
Roxanne’s Hairstyling, Newburgh, ON
McCormick’s Country Store Ltd., Camden East, ON
Ivy’s Journey Equestrian Centre, Yarker, ON
Kelsey’s Christmas Tree Farm, Yarker, ON
Tamworth Hardware, Tamworth, Ontario
A1 Corner Restaurant & Variety, Tamworth, ON
The Sheep Shelf, Yarker, ON
PharmaWell Drugmart, Tamworth, ON
Triple K Charolais, Newburgh, ON
The Tamworth Hotel, Tamworth, ON
Red School Farm, Yarker, ON
Newburgh Clinic, Newburgh, ON
Campbell Well Drilling, Newburgh, ON
Chris Carter Construction Inc., Newburgh, ON
Sutton Farms (Nacona) Ltd., Napanee, ON
The Blue Door Bakery and Cafe, Tamworth, ON
TCO Agromart Ltd., Shelby, ON
Sheila’s Greenhouse, Yarker, ON
Dave Way Farms, Tamworth, ON
River Valley Farms, Newburgh, ON
George Benn & Sons Construction Ltd., Napanee, ON
Barking Goat Farms, Centreville, ON
Mike’s Tire Service, Selby, ON
NNS Carpentry, Newburgh, ON
St. Isidore Farm, Yarker, ON
Saving Our Farmland in Stone Mills
Global Insulating Solutions Ltd, Napanee, ON
Smith Brother’s Farms, Tamworth, ON
Tamworth Medical Centre, Tamworth, ON
High Noon Painting, Croydon, ON
Old Hickory Buildings, Yarker, ON
Eric Smith Farm, Tamworth, ON
Calver Cattle Co., A Division of Matthew Calver, Selby, ON
Wemp and Smith Construction, Harrowsmith, ON
Jim Spinks Motors, Napanee, ON
Gillan Design & Home Renovations, Tamworth, ON
Brenda’s Salon, Centreville, ON
Cheryl Furlong Real Estate Exit Realty, Napanee, ON
Furlong Contracting, Enterprise, ON
Weese Landscaping, Tamworth, ON
Matthews Farm, Yarker, ON
Stienburg Farm, Tamworth, ON
Dan Misek Carpentry, Yarker, ON
Marlin Farm, Enterprise, ON
Stinson Studios, Tamworth, ON
ATC Farms, Centreville, ON
Clarmac Farms, Napanee, ON
Custom Tree Service, Tamworth, ON
Don Drones On, Erinsville, ON
The Quartermaster’s Store and Quirky Cafe, Tamworth, ON
Frontenac Tree Service, Inc., Yarker, ON
Domenico Electric, Erinsville, ON
Bee Queen, Tamworth, ON
Hawk Vale Antiques and Old Stuff, Napanee, ON
Friends of the Napanee River
Lucky Dollar, Yarker
Stone Mills Family Market, Tamworth, ON
Enjoy Travel, Yarker, ON
Burns Farms, Tamworth, ON
The Stone Corner Cafe, Camden East, ON
Jenn Fitzpatrick, ReMax Realtor, Camden East, ON
Cutie Cuts Pet Grooming Studio, Camden East, ON
G.S. Electric, Tamworth, ON
E Z Well Drilling, Napanee, ON
Stone Mills Marketplace
H Mann Heat & Cool, Yarker, ON
Douglas Banks Photographic Equipment Repairs. Enterprise, ON