Dan Aussant and his wife built a home in the Rural Municipality of Edenwold fifteen years ago. For them, when they built the home, everything in the area was perfect for them.
"We like the views of this area we like the quietness,” said Aussant.
But Aussant believes the quietness around him is about to change due to Viterra building a spur rail line across the road from his home.
"It's just a danger all the way around, especially close to a residential area property,” he said. “If it was a half mile or a mile away it wouldn’t be so bad."
Aussant said he’s upset that the R.M. of Edenwold didn’t notify him before this construction started, especially because of his proximity to the line.
"Very disappointed,” said Aussant. “I know the R.M. has favouritism and it should not be like that, we should be treated equal. But in this case it’s unfair for us, for what’s going to happen. We're going to lose property value and they are going to gain on it."
In a statement, the R.M. of Edenwold said “notification was not required under the existing zoning bylaw because, in this specific case: a rail spur line is being built on an existing rail line, on a pre-existing land use."
“Viterra has worked closely with all stakeholders, including the R.M. of Edenwold, to secure the necessary permits and approvals for the upgrades at our Balgonie Facility,” Viterra said in a statement to CTV News. “We have a long history in the Balgonie area and we are making these investments to continue to provide the best service possible to our farm customers. These targeted investments will allow us to move their products to export position more efficiently and will create significant reductions in noise and truck traffic for the local resident.”
But for Aussant, he said once the line is built, him and his wife will probably try to sell their property.
"It's shattering our dreams more than anything else,” he said. “It's very disappointing. The R.M. always says they look after the people but they don’t, they just look after the money."
