Land acquisition, not expropriation. MacKinnon pushed back on characterizing the provisions as expropriation, framing them as “land acquisition” measures essential to shortening planning timelines from eight to four years — at an estimated saving of $5 billion per year in construction costs.

One corridor, one contested segment. He clarified that two options are being consulted upon only for the Peterborough–Ottawa segment; the broader 10-km corridor between Québec City and Toronto has already been identified and will be narrowed to a 60-metre-wide alignment.

Cost estimates are necessarily rough. Precise costs cannot be given until the final alignment, geology, public rights-of-way, and station locations are determined — all currently being evaluated by Alto.

No corner-cutting. He argued the approach follows “tried-and-true” models: Québec’s expropriation regime used for the REM, and Ontario’s Building Transit Faster Act.

Standard methodology for this stage. The estimates follow international practice for a linear infrastructure project at this stage — per-kilometre cost comparisons drawn from global analogues. Greater precision will come as alignment decisions are made.

Planning budget: $3.9 billion. After correcting himself twice during the hearing, MacKinnon confirmed the planning-phase allocation is $3.9 billion.

Parliamentary approval required for investments. All major investment decisions will be returned to Parliament.

Speed has fiscal value. Every year of planning delay costs money in team salaries, private consortium overhead, and deferred construction efficiency.

Indigenous consultation. Protocols are in place; he stated consultations are going “very well,” noting the route passes through no reserves, though some land claims exist along the corridor.

MacKinnon outlined the principles Alto is expected to follow:

• Negotiate first on a “willing-buyer, willing-seller” basis before any compulsory acquisition.
• Avoid dividing farms or fields in two where possible.
• Accommodate rural road crossings, wildlife passages, and livestock access.
• Follow lot lines where feasible.
• Exhaust all public right-of-way options (energy corridors, highways, Crown land) before approaching private land.

Rural benefits. He argued that communities near the corridor will gain access to Alto stations much as they currently use airports — for tourism, business, education, and travel.

Rail steel gap acknowledged. Canada no longer manufactures rail-grade steel and does not produce high-speed locomotives. MacKinnon directed Alto to consult Canadian steel producers to determine what it would take to restart domestic production. Buy Canada provisions will apply across the full project.

$35B impact: rough order of magnitude. The figure incorporates construction activity, efficiency and productivity gains, real estate development around stations, avoided future road expenditures, and ongoing operational activity.

50,000 jobs: predominantly construction. The vast majority are construction-phase positions.

Announced the prior week, with a phased approach: Phase 1 — proactive outreach to projects already known to government. Phase 2 — open call for proposals. Phase 3 — smaller, high-impact projects targeting specific transportation chokepoints.

Fund as leverage, not subsidy. The $5B (plus $1B Arctic Infrastructure Fund) is designed to attract co-funding from provinces, municipalities, private companies, railways, port authorities, the Infrastructure Bank, and potentially National Defence.

Port of Contrecoeur. Received a small amount under a prior program; it is not part of the new fund.

PBO available to senators. MacKinnon confirmed the PBO is at the committee’s disposal and said he supports full transparency in project development.

Societal choice framing. He framed HSR not as a transportation project alone but as “a new way of life” for the corridor housing roughly 40% of Canada’s population.

Cost overrun commitment. He stated he is “determined” to keep costs from exceeding estimates and argued that additional years of planning time are themselves a major cost driver.

MacKinnon outlined Alto’s governance structure:

• Currently a VIA Rail subsidiary, treated as a parent Crown corporation under the Financial Administration Act.
• Governed by an independent board of directors.
• Submits corporate plans and operating budgets to the minister for Governor-in-Council approval.
• Tables full annual reports in Parliament.
• Subject to Treasury Board quarterly financial reporting, as with all parent Crown corporations.

On ridership projections. He acknowledged the 10 million trips/year by 2050 figure and other projections are still being developed. He told the committee that today’s ask is the land acquisition model specifically — not approval of the full business case.

Split not yet established. The public/private financing ratio has not been determined; it will evolve as routing and city-entry decisions are made.

Private consortium partners. Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the Cadence consortium (including SNCF and Air Canada) are involved. Hydro-Québec confirmed as a key electricity supplier.

Risk-sharing to be negotiated. MacKinnon acknowledged that “painstaking” construction and operating agreements remain to be negotiated, and agreed that risk-sharing provisions — including penalties for timeline failures — should be a feature of those agreements.

CTA not designed for this scale. MacKinnon argued the existing Expropriation Act hearing regime was not envisioned for a project involving thousands of individual properties. Applying it would extend timelines well beyond eight years.

Residual landowner protections. Landowners retain a negotiation phase (with all appraisal and legal costs covered by the project); if no agreement is reached, the matter goes to a second minister — the minister responsible for the Expropriation Act — for review.

“For the advantage of Canada.” He noted the House of Commons has designated the project as being for the general advantage of Canada, placing it in the same statutory category as major historic infrastructure.

Commitment to fair treatment. MacKinnon said most people affected by linear infrastructure projects ultimately feel they were treated fairly when the process is handled with respect and patience. He committed to that standard.

Windsor as Phase 2. MacKinnon confirmed Windsor remains within the project vision, and expressed hope that planning for the southwestern Ontario extension would begin “immediately — maybe even before we open the first phase.”

Duty to explain benefits. He said the government has a duty to explain the “considerable benefits” accruing to communities along the line.