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The fight against the Liberal government's massive high-speed rail boondoggle is heating up. In a sit-down with Conservative MP Philip Lawrence, Shadow Minister for Intergovernmental Affairs, One Canadian Economy, and Interprovincial Trade, we unpacked the nightmare unfolding for rural families facing potential expropriation under the $90 billion ALTO high-speed rail project.

MP Lawrence, representing the vast riding of Northumberland—Clarke, didn’t hold back his shock when Transport Minister Steve McKinnon dropped a bombshell in committee two weeks ago: if Parliament approves this mega-project linking Quebec City to Toronto, expropriation could begin almost immediately.

"I was thrown for a loop," Lawrence admitted, expecting the usual evasive committee rhetoric.

Lawrence says that, while to his credit, McKinnon gave straight answers, they certainly weren’t the ones that rural Ontarians wanted to hear, and those concerns have been pouring into Lawrence's office.

Multi-generational farms and homes passed down through families hang in the balance of a rail project that many suspect will never come to fruition.

ALTO's vague online maps show a wildly broad corridor – spanning up to 75 metres wide – that leaves property owners in limbo. Farmers, especially, are holding back on much-needed farm and structural updates while they await the fate of this public-private partnership project.

Even those spared direct seizure face devastation since high-speed rail requires overpasses and underpasses instead of simple crosses, each of which comes at a cost of tens of millions.

Limited crossings means that communities will be severed, isolating schools, churches, and hospitals along the way.

"Your life is going to be severely disrupted," Lawrence warns.

Then there's the money, or lack of sense in it. The price tag starts at $60-90 billion, but history shows major cost overruns.

A McGill study blasted ALTO's ridership numbers as greatly inflated, undoubtedly further inflating the proposed budget allocations.

Lawrence notes that average high-speed rail overruns are significant, and Canada repeatedly exceeds budgets — think SNC-Lavalin scandals and endless infrastructure fiascos.

Speaking of SNC-Lavalin, it’s now been rebranded as AtkinsRéalis, which is part of the ALTO consortium. “New name. New era,” they claim.

Given the company’s history of squandering tax dollars and being embroiled in corruption scandals, Lawrence expressed deep skepticism about this project given the Liberals' track record of scandals like ArriveCAN and SNC’s Deferred Prosecution Agreement.

"It's my job as an opposition member to hold the government to account,” iterated Lawrence, pointing out that even at $90B without overruns, this project forces every Canadian family to pony up over $5,000 for a train most will never ride.

Meanwhile, the economy is tanking with negative GDP growth, 84,000 jobs lost in February, unemployment at 6.7%, and stagflation looming.

Lawrence tied it to broader Liberal failures such as broken promises on interprovincial trade barriers (still in place past the promised July 1 deadline, last year) and mishandling U.S. relations under Prime Minister Mark Carney.

Adding insult to injury was Carney’s failure to inform the public of the Iranian missile attack on Canadian forces in Kuwait.

On floor-crossers and potential majority grabs through backroom deals, Lawrence made his stance clear: "I would rather spend the rest of my life walking on broken glass... than to join the Liberal Party of Canada." He called it a challenge to democracy when votes get overridden by defections.

In closing, Lawrence said Canadians deserve better than this reckless government, with the proof in the pudding of a $90-billion gamble that carves up the rural heartland for questionable gains.