CN Rail hub project in Milton moves ahead after region exhausts legal avenues to stop it

The legal battles between Halton and CN Rail have officially come to an end, over the development of a new intermodal hub in Milton.

The region has been in a longstanding dispute to prevent a rail hub in Milton from being built, but the project is moving ahead after the region said they’ve exhausted all legal avenues.

The new hub is being built near Britannia and Tremaine Roads, to the dismay of local politicians.

“The Supreme Court and the federal government decided to side with this project, and you know, Milton as a community is very pro-logistics,” said Sameera Ali, one of Milton’s regional councillors. “It’s just that the location is not appropriate and we are all very, very saddened to see this.”

The project started in 2023, but it has faced more than a decade of scrutiny as the region tried to preserve the land and for future town development.

The region spent over $30 million throughout the legal battle, but Gordon Krantz, the Mayor of Milton, said it was justified to prioritize environmental safety.

“I’m not happy about that either, but how do you put a price on human health,” said Krantz. “Regardless if it’s $10 or $10 million, there’s no buying that.”

Halton Region says they can no longer take legal steps to stop the project.

In a statement, they said, “although the Courts acknowledged the project’s significant environmental and health impacts, some of which cannot be mitigated, they have nonetheless permitted it to proceed as approved by the federal government.”

Danielle Masanto with the advocacy group “Milton Says No” echoes the environmental concerns.

“The main risk factors are: air quality, noise pollution, and light pollution,” said Masanto. “It’s a facility that runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Initially, we’re looking at 1,200 trucks per day that it’ll be a huge economic loss.

“This was supposed to be our employment area – our residential and employment area,” said Ali. “We are losing $7.5 million per year – who is going to fill that gap in?”

But the battle isn’t over just yet.

Krantz said he has a meeting with MPs Adam Van Koeverden and Kristina Tesser Derksen Monday to address the issue.

“They made an election promise during the last campaign three or four months ago, to pursue it,” said Krantz. “So however they may, or may not have been pursuing it, I’ll soon find out. I’m not letting the federal government off the hook.”

Construction on the hub is set to be complete by mid-2027.

READ MORE: CN Rail hub project in Milton to proceed after Supreme Court dismisses appeal request