Gareth Smart sits down in the HUB Online Network studio with Daniel Collett, a member at large representing the Ashcroft Slough Society. The Ashcroft Slough Society is a recently formed group that is advocating for ongoing access to the Ashcroft Slough, their advocacy takes them against CN Rail and the Ashcroft Terminal.

Gareth asked Daniel or some back-round on the situation: The Ashcroft Terminal started development on their property in 2008. At that time Evans road (that heads from Ashcroft to the Slough and Ashcroft Terminal) was open for the general public to drive down, it was a "public road through private property". Along the road was a spot where you could pull over, cross the railroad tracks (albeit illegally) and head down to the Slough area. It was approximately a five minute walk to get to the water. Even the local schools would send field trips to the area as well, for biological and ecological field trips.

Jump forward to the last couple of years and access to the Slough has now been denied, with a gate being put up. The Terminal land is being developed more, with construction and ever increasing traffic populating the once quiet road. This is due to the Terminal securing a contract with CP and CN Rail, the twinning of the tracks and a new expansion opportunity (see the interview with Patty Kinvig representative from the Ashcroft Terminal here) 

A significant number of Ashcroft and surrounding area citizens brought the lack of Slough Access to the Terminal's attention. The response was a "working group" (to Daniel's understanding) that would seek and build an alternative access point to a pathway on the opposite side of the railroad tracks, this pathway would provide a legal crossing but would add some time to the walk. Ultimately this overpass (or tunnel) would still take you to the Slough area.

Daniel quickly understood that this "working group" (that was made up of Ashcroft and Cache Creek Councilors, representatives from the Ashcroft Indian Band, citizens from Ashcroft and Terminal representatives) was not to seek alternative access. It is Daniels assertion that everyone but three people in the group were all somehow attached to Terminal somehow. Daniel quickly found out that this group was to find an alternative project that the Terminal can help out with financially. Some of examples of this include: A dog park, a set of walking pathways, or a retrofit of the nearby boat launch. Daniel says that the Terminal and Ashcroft will not be able to come to any conclusion and all of those options will never happen.

The things that Daniel and others suggested in these meetings to gain access to the Slough included a tunnel/10ft culvert that would go under the railroad tracks, or a walking overpass that would go over the railroad tracks. The suggested area that these paths would be built are just outside of Terminal main gate on Evans road, the overpass would "be the cheaper option".

CN in a statement read by Patty in the previous interview stated that they are "not willing to building any kind of crossing anywhere".

Since nearly the end of the working group (which wrapped up in September 2020), an other team of people splintered off and started gaining momentum with a petition to keep the Slough open one way or another. This team formed the Ashcroft Slough Society that is currently seeking membership. The society at this time has been approached by an environmental lawyer that may being to help them out pro-bono. Daniel states that he would rather see the Terminal work with them in good faith as the "good corporate citizens that the Terminal claims to be", before starting a litigation process.