In the city that was destroyed on July 6, 2013, the preparatory work for the construction of the Mégantic bypass was announced with great fanfare on Friday.
47 people were killed. Old people, young people, children… Countless collateral damage: suicides, anxiety, depression, etc.
A devastated inner city, a trauma for its residents, followed by “preventive” demolitions of dozens of buildings, wild expropriations, some of which now seem unnecessary.
After being there this summer, I realized that the numerous train rides, even when slowed down, represent so many unbearable reminders of the disaster.
On Friday, Federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez formulated the main argument for building a bypass: “After this tragedy, every day, every day a train has to pass the same place, with even more wagons, with dangerous materials.”, that no longer makes sense. “
- Listen to Antoine Robitaille’s latest column on Benoit Dutrizac’s microphone QUB radio :
Resistance
Then why is there so much resistance locally?
As evidence of this, a referendum was held on February 19th in the municipality of Frontenac. To the clear question… “Do you agree with the project of the new railway bypass in the Frontenac area?”, 92.5% of the 697 citizens (who spoke) voted “No”.
Photo Jeremy Bernier
In Nantes (where the crazy train left in 2013), through which the bypass would pass, the majority of opposition was heard during an extraordinary council meeting in January.
We will say that it is the residents of neighboring villages who are against it, and not those of Lac-Mégantic. But here too there is great resistance. “Yes, it is traumatic to see this train again every day, but at the same time we have lived with it for decades.” The bypass route would endanger the water supply by, among other things, destroying the groundwater table.
- Listen to them Lavoie-Robitaille meeting with Guillaume Lavoie and Antoine Robitaille via QUB radio :
Real problem
For these citizens who met in Lac-Mégantic, the real problem is the laxity of the federal government towards the major railway companies. Ottawa’s fear of slowing oil transport by rail.
Just watch Philippe Falardeau and Nancy Guérin’s extraordinary documentary series to see for yourself. “Lac-Mégantic: This is not an accident” convincingly shows in four episodes that nothing has changed in the federal supervision of the major railway companies since the tragedy of July 6th. His negligence led to other disasters elsewhere in Canada; and others are to be expected.
Ottawa likes to castigate itself in speeches about the “colonialism” it may have demonstrated. However, the impunity of the railway companies and the faintheartedness of ministers (Denis Lebel, Marc Garneau, etc.) towards them reveal a kind of unacknowledged colonial persistence.
The federal government, great at teaching health management or woodland caribou conservation, for example, is proving unable to properly apply its own regulations to keep people safe. Just remember that Ottawa has refused to hold a public inquiry into this disaster worthy of the name. A way out… real problems.
