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A First Look at the Proposed High-Speed Rail Network Act

Hours

The federal government’s plan to build a high-speed rail network between Quebec City and Toronto is moving forward under Bill C-15, a 600-page omnibus budget bill now at second reading in the House of Commons. 

The project would create nearly 1,000 km of dedicated tracks for trains traveling at speeds of 300 km/h or more. The exact route has not been finalized, but preliminary plans show the line running from Toronto through Peterborough, Ottawa, Montreal, Laval, Trois-Rivières, and Quebec City.

To advance the project more efficiently, the Bill proposes the High-Speed Rail Network Act, establishing VIA HFR, a new Crown corporation under VIA Rail, to oversee construction. A central aim of the Act is to cut timelines in half, enabling work to begin in four years instead of eight.


The proposed Bill would also introduce several changes to the federal expropriation process, specifically in relation to properties along the planned rail corridor. Many of these proposed changes mirror measures introduced under Ontario’s Building Transit Faster Act, which was designed to give Metrolinx a more streamlined process for securing and acquiring property along key transit corridors. Some of the key changes would include:

  • Right of First Refusal: VIA HFR could register notices on properties that would make any sale to a third party invalid unless the land is first offered to VIA HFR.
  • No Mandatory Purchase Attempt: The proposed Bill would remove the current requirement to make an initial purchase offer before commencing expropriation, allowing authorities to proceed directly with the formal expropriation process.
  • Elimination of Public Hearings: The proposed Bill would remove owners’ rights to a public hearing on objections to a proposed taking. Owners could still file written objections, but these would not trigger hearings, only administrative review.
  • Prohibition on Work Orders: The proposed Bill would allow VIA HFR to issue notices prohibiting work on affected land for up to four years. During this time, owners and occupants would only be permitted to perform maintenance to prevent deterioration or maintain normal functionality. Compensation could be claimed by owners for actual losses incurred during the freeze. Work already underway before the prohibition notice could continue, while any increase in property value from unauthorized work would be excluded when calculating compensation. 


Bill C-15 is still under debate and will proceed to committee hearings. In the coming days, we will publish a more detailed analysis of how the Act’s expropriation-related provisions compare to the current federal and Ontario regimes, and potential consequences for authorities and property owners along the corridor.