B.C. sets aside $18 million for Island Rail future as consultations continue

The province has earmarked millions in funding for the future of the Island Rail system and will be returning more than 10 acres of land taken from the Snaw-naw-as First Nation.

The B.C. provincial government is committing $18 million in funding to further the conversation over what to do with the defunct Vancouver Island Rail corridor.

It has been more than a decade since the trains were used to haul freight and carry passengers up and down Vancouver Island, but the hope is for the railway to eventually be restored.

The funding will also allow First Nations to assess concerns like flooding, access, noise or safety where the corridor crosses their land.

“We have to get it right and get on the right footing, which means working very closely through a lens of reconciliation with our First Nations partners,” said Transportation Minister Rob Fleming.

“Given the frailty of our highway infrastructure during a extreme climate related event. So, to have alternates — to have some redundancy built into your transportation — is smart,” he said.

Fuelled by a March 14 deadline, set by the B.C. Court of Appeal in 2021, the federal government did not confirm whether it would support a new rail system along the corridor, which runs from Victoria to Courtenay.

Instead, more than 10 acres taken from the Snaw-naw-as First Nation for the purpose of the railway will be returned, and the $18 million in provincial funding has been committed for future planning.

“I think while they were clearly not in a position to respond to the courts today about investments, it is pleasing to me to see that they have made some significant steps in their statements about why the Island Rail Corridor is important for the future,” said Fleming.