It seems Squamish has buried the hatchet with CN Rail. And it only took $5.3 million. The railway industry was ripe for local animosity as far back as 2003 when the Liberal government went into what's now being described by some as a shady deal to sell 小蓝视频 Rail to CN -resulting in the loss of a substantial number of high-paying local jobs.
Two and a half years later, the derailment in the Cheakamus Canyon helped to bolster workers' claims that CN didn't become familiar enough with mountainous terrain after buying off 小蓝视频 Rail assets.
Some called it sour grapes. But there was no denying the bitterness coming from the District of Squamish and its many angry resident with the devastating caustic soda spill into the Cheakamus River.
The mounting resentment resulted in a strained relationship -to say the least - between Squamish and CN. Just a few weeks after the spill, CN imposed restrictions on railway crossings that led to a stinging rebuke from then-mayor Ian Sutherland.
Calling CN's new rules and threats or removing the crossings "arrogant and offensive," in a letter to Hunter Harrison, president and CEO CN Rail, Sutherland summed up the sentiment many locals feel when asked about CN.
"Canadian National Railway has introduced shunting cars in or near residential neighbourhoods during the late night and early morning hours, regularly blocks access to our downtown for excessive periods due to train length, and has destroyed thousands of fish within the Cheakamus and Squamish rivers. Now CNR is threatening our municipality's access and that of our citizens."
Accusations of CN arrogance ring often through these streets. And from the local point of view, it often precedes CN's dismissal of questions and complaints with the answer "we're following federal guidelines."
This led to locals such as Coun. Patricia Heintzman calling on the federal government to strengthen the Railway Safety Act, and place more severe penalties on companies that negligently cause these sorts of environmental catastrophes.
The Railway Safety Act continues to allow devastation such as the Cheakamus River incident to be punished with fines shipping companies barely feel. However CN's commitment to reinvigorating the local environment and economy, with funds for district promotional endeavours, seems to have appeased the most heated among us.
It's too bad it took the killing of thousands and thousands of fish for CN to be accepted as a good corporate citizen.
