{"id":22,"date":"2026-07-31T13:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-31T13:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/barryward3.com\/?page_id=22"},"modified":"2026-09-01T10:34:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-01T10:34:37","slug":"alto-high-speed-rail","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/barryward3.com\/?page_id=22","title":{"rendered":"High Speed Rail"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>My Position on ALTO High-Speed Rail<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I believe Canadians deserve modern transportation infrastructure, but major projects must be affordable, transparent, and accountable. As of this moment I am against the proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">ALTO currently estimates its high-speed rail project will cost between&nbsp;<strong>$60 billion and $90 billion<\/strong>&nbsp;and states that funding will come from a combination of private investment, fare revenues, and targeted public investment, with risks shared between partners. This is just an initial estimate!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before additional public funds are committed, I believe residents deserve clear answers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>What will the final cost be?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How much public money will ultimately be invested?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What financial risks remain with taxpayers if costs increase or revenues fall short?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What are the impacts on our municipality, including land use, traffic, and local infrastructure?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What about our farmers and their land?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What about our hunting and fishing heritage?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Will our municipality benefit from this at all?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As your municipal councillor, I will advocate for transparency, fiscal responsibility, and protecting local taxpayers. I believe governments should prioritize investments that provide direct, measurable benefits to our community before committing billions to projects whose final costs and long-term financial impacts remain uncertain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Lanark Highlands Council Does Not Support Alto High Speed Rail Proposal<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-1 wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"color:#0904f4\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.lanarkhighlands.ca\/community\/news-public-notices\/lanark-highlands-council-does-not-support-alto-high-speed-rail-proposal\">Read the statement<\/a> by Council from March 10, 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>On election day, I would be honoured to earn your vote for Ward 3 Councillor.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My Position on ALTO High-Speed Rail I believe Canadians deserve modern transportation infrastructure, but major projects must be affordable, transparent, and accountable. As of this moment I am against the proposal. ALTO currently estimates its high-speed rail project will cost between&nbsp;$60 billion and $90 billion&nbsp;and states that funding will come from a combination of private [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-22","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barryward3.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barryward3.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barryward3.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barryward3.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barryward3.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/barryward3.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":252,"href":"https:\/\/barryward3.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/22\/revisions\/252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barryward3.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}