Ashcroft Terminal Has Support From 13 Communities in the Thompson Nicola Regional District

April 27, 2012

Honourable Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Transportation
PO Box 9055 STN PROV GOVT
Victoria, BC V8W 9E2

Dear Honourable Blair Lekstrom, Minister of Transportation:

Re: The Village of Ashcroft Container Terminal Site Proposal

The Thompson-Nicola Regional District Board of Directors passed a motion at our April 19, 2102 meeting in support of the Village of Ashcroft Container Terminal Site proposal. On behalf of the Board of Directors I urge you to consider the Ashcroft site as a more viable location that is available and ready. The Ashcroft land does not require the removal of 600 acres of prime land from the ALR as does the Delta-Vancouver area project.

Ashcroft Terminal is 300 acres of industrially zoned land with over 340 acres of buffer land available. The land is stable, easily accessible, and cost effective to build on and centrally located within the Province of British Columbia.

As part of the Southern corridor on Canada’s Pacific Gateway, the Ashcroft Terminal is uniquely positioned as a significant and sustainable materials management terminal that provides both handling/storage for bulk materials and transloading services for muli-model transportation. Ashcroft Terminal is currently operational with several tenants and facilities including industrial transloading and logistic services.

One of Ashcroft Terminal’s many advantages are the two first-class rail mainlines on site – the Canadian Pacific Rail and Canadian National Rail. In recent years, up to 57 CP and CN trains travel through Ashcroft Terminal per day and provide direct rail to and from port. As mentioned this land is readily available as a proposed additional terminal site and is not prime ALR land.

Expansion of the Ashcroft Terminal would provide efficiency in the Canadian logistics chain for a wide range of shippers and producers while supporting growth in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours truly,

Randy Murray
Chair

pc:
Tom Corsie – Vancouver Port Authority
Fred Green – CEO of CPR
Claude Mongeau – CEO of CNR
Mark Strahl – MP for Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon
Harry Lali – MLA for Fraser-Nicola
John Cummins – BC Conservative Leader
Adrian Dix – BC NDP Leader