Serpent River First Nation and the Mansour Group of Sudbury are eyeballing a northeastern Ontario short line railway for “immediate” business opportunities.
The North Channel First Nation community and the Sudbury industrial supplier said they have teamed up to discuss the future of rail transport and they're zeroing in the Huron Central Railway and its 305-kilometre long track between Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury.
In a statement, Chief Isadore Day said upgrading the track running through Serpent River First Nation and other First Nation communities in the Lake Huron Treaty territory is “vital to our future” as well as the region's economic well-being.
“We will assert our rights and interests in any future work on that line and we want to work with our northern neighbours to ensure that we can all benefit together.”
There is expected to be an announcement coming from the federal government shortly to officially release $15 million to upgrade the track beds and bridge along the line. The province has already committed $15 million, but is waiting on Ottawa to release their matching contribution.
In a statement, Mansour president Milad Mansour said their interest in rail is a “mutual priority” to support economic growth.
“We know that the Government of Ontario understands this important principle and we hope that the federal government will also clearly support this type of approach to developing our Northern Ontario rail transportation system,” said Mansour.
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