Canadian Pacific Railway said that it plans to ask the Supreme Court of Canada to hear an appeal of the B.C. Court of Appeal decision upholding a Vancouver city bylaw that designated CPR's privately owned Arbutus lands for public use.

The Court held that the City had the power to enact the bylaw, with Madam Justice Southin then commenting about the situation itself. "We fully agree with Madam Justice Southin's view that it is time for the current situation to come to an end," said CPR Vice President of Communications and Public Affairs, Paul Clark.

"The bylaw the City passed created a dangerous precedent for all private property owners and potential property owners and sent a negative message about investment in British Columbia."

The decision resulted from the City's appeal of an October 2002 ruling by the B.C. Supreme Court that ruled the bylaw invalid because the City did not have the power to designate private land for public use without compensation, or even negotiating with the owner. The now-reinstated bylaw was originally passed in July of 2000 and designated the Arbutus land as a public thoroughfare.

Trains stopped running on the line almost three years ago. The judge also said that there should be negotiations, and that if an agreement cannot be reached, the Government of British Columbia should intervene.

Clark commented that, although CPR is appealing, the company would much prefer to work with the City on a more constructive solution to the future of the Arbutus lands. "We have been saying for five years now that we would be happy to negotiate the sale of our land for whatever use the City chooses. It has been extremely frustrating that there have been no negotiations."

"This is not only about our Arbutus land. It is also about preserving private property rights for all residents of B.C. The approach the City has taken means that landowners and investors who want to contribute to the future prosperity of Vancouver have no certainty or security."

As Madam Justice Southin states in her decision, "the present impasse is an absurdity unworthy of this Province which, on the way to the 2010 Olympic Games, is asserting to all and sundry that it is a marvelous place."