WHEREAS the provincial government sold the provincial asset BC Rail to Canadian National Railway CN, assuring British Columbians that the sale of BC Rail would provide benefits to all British Columbians; AND WHEREAS CN is now imposing private rail crossing agreements, requiring all upgrades and maintenance of said private rail crossings be undertaken at the property owners risk and expense, under threat of removal of property owner access: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM request that the provincial government join with affected local governments and seek a meeting with CN Rail to discuss the status of existing rail agreements and request CN Rails concurrence to honour these existing agreements; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that CN Rail be requested to postpone indefinitely the September 30, 2005 deadline for response to their proposed agreements until there is clarity on the status of any existing access agreements.
Ministry of Transportation As a result of input from private property owners along the former BC Rail operated rail line, CN has agreed to waive the standard 500 annual crossing maintenance fee until 2007 and has reduced the liability insurance clause in its private crossing agreements from 10 million to 2 million. The Canadian Transportation Act states that land owners are responsible for paying the cost of construction and maintenance of private rail crossings on private land. Section 102 of the Act relates to statutory rights where an existing landowners property is bisected by the railway and assigns the financial and maintenance responsibilities to the railway. Section 103 of the Act relates to crossings put in after the railway was established, but before the land was owned by a property owner. The financial responsibilities are then open to interpretation, which is where the Canada Transportation Agency will determine which party is responsible for crossing-related costs.