CN began refusing to pay in 2022, arguing that it is a federally-regulated company and does not need to comply with provincial regulations.
Ontario Agriculture Minister Lisa Thompson has said in the past that the Ontario Drainage Act applies to all property owners, including the railway companies.
Warwick Township and the Town of Plympton-Wyoming say they are owed $240,000 and have given CN Rail untjl March to their requests for payment.
Warwick Mayor Todd Case said his municipality expressed its concerns at a recent meeting with CN officials.
“We’re not the only municipalities in Ontario that are experiencing the same thing,” said Case. “Let’s be honest, they do benefit from the drain just as much as a farmer does or the person living on that country estate. We’re just saying that ‘look, you have to do the right thing and you’ve got to pay your fair share’.”
Case said CN’s refusal to follow provincial law is delaying numerous drainage-related projects across the province.
“Drains are always prorated and everybody pays according to the benefit they get from that drain. When CN just decides that they’re not going to pay and hold up the whole process in the system, it causes a backlog.
That’s an issue that AMO (the Association of Municipalities of Ontario) and other organizations have identified.”
