James St. swing bridge reopening under negotiation: Keith Hobbs

Thunder Bay Mayor Keith Hobbs says talks between CN Rail and the Fort William First Nation are underway, and he hopes they will result in the reopening of the James Street swing bridge.

"We learned from Fort William First Nation that actually they were in talks with CN about the bridge. So, they brought this to us that there's a deal in the works between CN and the Fort William First Nation." Hobbs said Tuesday.

"So, we've asked CN to forward that agreement, potential agreement, to the city of Thunder Bay so that we can look at it because we're the signatory to the 1906 agreement. So, we're waiting on that."

Hobbs said city council was brought up to speed on the issue on Monday night in closed session, and city officials got an update from the First Nation at a meeting on Tuesday. He said council has asked the city's legal department to make any agreement with CN a priority.

Hobbs said the deal, as he understands it, "would be revenue-neutral for the city, would be no cost to the city, but we want to see how it would impact our 1906 agreement as well."

Neither Fort William First Nation Chief Georjann Morriseau nor a spokesperon for CN responded Tuesday to CBC's request for comment.

The bridge has been closed to vehicular traffic since it was damaged by fire nearly 11 months ago.