WHEREAS a large number of businesses and industries rely on rail transportation for access to the USA market for receiving and shipping of materials and goods and this mode of transportation can be jeopardized when the only access into Canada is through the USA: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities request the Province of British Columbia to establish, in consultation with the Government of Canada a protocol on rail line abandonment that affects Canada and the USA.
Ministry of Transportation Infrastructure Railways which cross provincial or international borders fall under federal jurisdiction in Canada. The province has no legal authority in respect of the proposed KFIR abandonment. It is not clear what a protocol would encompass as federal legislation, both in Canada and the United States, which sets out the rail line abandonment process, provides parties federal agency, railways, levels of government with responsibilities, rights and obligations as part of that process.