Lac-Mégantic Rail Bypass
Community Residents Must Have Decisive Say in the Project and Their Future
A tense situation has arisen regarding the construction of the railway bypass that will divert trains from the downtown of the Quebec community Lac-Mégantic, where on July 6, 2013 a train carrying highly flammable oil derailed, caught fire and exploded. A safe bypass has been a demand of the region's communities since that rail tragedy which caused 47 deaths, serious injuries to many others and severe post-traumatic stress for the residents, as well as very extensive property damage.
The bypass route is now strongly contested among the population. The
proposed route passes through the industrial area in Lac-Mégantic and
the neighbouring communities of Frontenac and Nantes. In a referendum
held in February in the municipality of Frontenac, where the turnout
was about 50 per
cent, 90 per cent of those who voted were against its construction.
Why this tension exists is an important question as the concern for rail safety and the social healing of the Lac-Mégantic community remains strong.
When the government announced its proposed route, the people of Nantes and Frontenac proposed alternative routes based on a variety of concerns, including the environment, which has now become a central issue. These proposals were simply turned down. Later, the government claimed to have consulted the public, but it did not retain the proposals received, nor did it discuss them publicly. Quebeckers and Canadians are familiar with such consultations where the form is abused by ignoring the submissions made and simply confirming what the company or government in question has already decided.
Canadian Pacific (CP) bought the Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQR) in December 2019, which had bought the bankrupt American company, Montreal, Maine & Atlantic (MMA), the owner of the rail line when the Lac-Mégantic tragedy occurred. With its purchase, CP will become the owner of the bypass.
Community residents have learned that CP intends to run trains on the new track of 200-250 cars – more than three times the number of cars on the Mégantic death train – including cars carrying hazardous materials, travelling at speeds of 40 miles (64 kilometres) per hour. It will pass through the Mégantic industrial park near factories such as Tafisa, a giant particle board manufacturing company that has already experienced a fire and large explosions because it emits a lot of highly flammable wood dust into the air.
In addition, it was presented as a fait accompli that the railroad right-of-way -- the strip of land reserved for rail operations -- will double in width, presumably to accommodate a second CP track. The cost of the bypass, which was estimated in 2019 at about $130 million, will now exceed $1 billion, entirely paid for by the federal and Quebec governments.
Many point out that the bypass, as currently defined, is no longer a
rail safety and social healing project, but a government-CP project to
increase CP's profits and strengthen its position amongst North
America's largest rail companies. CP has just purchased the U.S.
railroad Kansas City
Southern, which will create a giant integrated North American rail
network. Certainly, residents did not support the bypass project as a future transcontinental hazardous materials highway.
And who could blame community residents for holding such a view?
Claiming
that this demonstrates community opposition to the bypass project is
a diversion, denying the real concerns and demands being raised by
the people, to pit them against each other and simplyto impose the
project.
Or the authorities will say that the bypass is now a thing of the past, that the citizens don't want it, and have only themselves to blame for the insecurity and railroad anarchy that will continue on the old track in downtown Mégantic.
Various organizations have put forward concerns and demands that must be heard and play a decisive role in defining the bypass project.
Organizations and citizens oppose the undue division of agricultural and forestry land by the planned route, which will result in a loss of income and property value for those properties divided or enclosed by the rail line. They have proposed that working committees be formed to assess equitable compensation for all those who will suffer losses.
On February 13, people were extremely shocked to receive the notice of intent to expropriate landowners for the construction of the track issued by the federal Minister of Public Services and Procurement at the request of the Transport Minister. Nearly 1,500 letters challenging the notice of intent to expropriate were hand-delivered to the department's Montreal office within days.
The biggest and most detailed concern was environmental. Organizations and citizens have asked the federal Minister of Environment to hold an environmental impact assessment of the bypass project.
One concern is that the digging and blasting that will have to be done may contaminate the water table affecting supplies of drinking water to Lac-Mégantic and the surrounding area.
There is also concern about the loss of vast areas of wetlands that play an important role in storing carbon and preserving biodiversity. Another concern is that clearing forest areas to construct the railroad will release hundreds of tons of carbon into the atmosphere.
The main demand of the organizations and citizens is that their voice be heard and respected, that they have a decisive role in what is adopted so that the interests of the communities are defended.
This is a modern, just and necessary demand.
This article was published in
Number 16 - March 27, 2023
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/WF2023/Articles/WO10161.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca