Scott Reid Demands Action for Napanee’s Dilapidated CN Rail Bridge

Ottawa – Local MP Scott Reid today asked the Minister to intervene in a very serious matter in Napanee. The CN Rail Bridge located on the southeast side of town is literally falling apart. When he was in Napanee last week he stopped by the site at the request of a constituent and he picked up several of the dislodged rocks that had fallen to the ground.

Mr. Reid made the following statement in the House of Commons:

Mr Speaker,

Three months ago concerned citizens sent the Minister of Transport a portfolio with over 60 photographs documenting the deterioration of the 140-year-old stone and concrete CN railway bridge in downtown Napanee. Also included were resolutions of the town and county councils requesting that the minister dispatch someone to take note of the structural deficiencies of the bridge.

So far, the minister has failed to even acknowledge receipt of the portfolio.

The condition of the bridge is a serious matter. The bridge crosses a busy street and is located beside a public park. Chunks of stone and concrete have been falling from the parapet of the bridge and from its support piers. I took several of these home and weighed them. The heaviest is over seven pounds and would have killed or injured any person unfortunate enough to be sitting or standing underneath when it broke loose.

Railways and therefore railway bridges fall under federal jurisdiction. The minister therefore has no excuse to ignore the potentially dangerous state of this bridge. I encourage him to turn his attention to this matter as soon as possible.

At the end of debate, Mr Reid asked for the unanimous consent of all MPs to “table” (that is, to enter into the journals of the House of Commons), another copy of the portfolio of photographs of the bridge, as well as one of the chunks of rock that had fallen from the bridge.

“I knew, of course, that the Liberals would not consent to table the rock, but the Transport Minister was in the House of Commons at the time, and I wanted to make sure he has no excuse to claim ignorance of the seriousness of the situation,” Reid concluded.

For more information or to speak with Mr. Reid
Please call (613) 257-8130 or (613) 947-2277.

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