Train project challenge rejected in superior court

A demand that the Caisse de dépôt’s multibillion-dollar electric train project be suspended pending another set of public hearings on its environmental impact has been rejected by a Quebec Superior Court justice.

In a 48-page ruling made public Tuesday, Judge Michel Yergeau ruled that “the plaintiff ’s suit has no chance of success in its present form,” and that ending it now would avoid directing resources in “a legal action destined to fail.”

The lawsuit, filed by Coalition Climat and five private citizens, contended consultations already held on the Réseau électrique métropolitain, or REM, were incomplete.

It also alleged that the provincial government had violated federal jurisdiction when it authorized the project, which, according to the plaintiffs, should have been assessed at the federal level.

The coalition also contended citizens’ fundamental rights would be violated by the project’s environmental fallout, which they said would include increased noise and local increases in temperature.

The suit called for construction to be halted so “an effective and useful” public consultation could be held and its findings be taken into account.

However, the judge rejected all of the suit’s arguments, ruling that Quebec had not violated federal jurisdiction, that concerns over the project’s possible effects on the plaintiff ’s health and well-being had not been proved and that their arguments were based on “speculation.”

The electric train, which is budgeted to cost $6 billion and run on a 67-kilometre route, will link the South Shore, Montreal, the West Island and Deux-Montagnes.