(Lac-Mégantic) Justin Trudeau recognizes that the bypass was a “very long” process for the people of Mégantic, but believes that ten years after the “trauma” that was the Lac-Mégantic tragedy, we must go from the front.
The Prime Minister of Canada is in Lac-Mégantic on Thursday to attend the memorial mass which pays tribute to the 47 people who lost their lives the night of July 5 to 6, 2013.
Although it is divisive in the community, the bypass project will begin construction this fall, he said.
“I understand that there are farmers who are concerned about the loss of certain lands, but for me it is not even a question,” said Mr. Trudeau.
“The trauma and the pain” that the Méganticois who see the train pass through the city center every day must come to an end, he said. The trains are expected to avoid the heart of the city, but opponents fear expropriations and the destruction of wetlands.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, THE PRESS
Omar Alghabra
Shortly before, Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said the bypass is “in the best interest” of everyone. “I understand the concerns, it’s a complicated question,” he added.
Before entering the Sainte-Agnès church, Prime Minister François Legault called on the community to remain hopeful.
PHOTO CHARLES WILLIAM PELLETIER, THE PRESS
Francois Legault
“We will never forget, it marked you for life, but life must go on. We must keep hope. This life is short, you have to find good times, ”said Mr. Legault.
When the train decimated Lac-Mégantic, Deputy Premier Geneviève Guilbault was spokesperson for the Coroner’s Office at the time.
She says she keeps a “great lesson in humility and resilience”. “When we arrived on July 6, we thought we were coming for a few days, we stayed for several weeks, for the most part,” she said.
A ceremony that wants to be sober
The commemorative mass began with a projection of photos of the 47 victims of the train on a giant screen installed in the church. The faces of people who committed suicide following the tragedy also paraded.
At noon, the church bells will ring 47 times.
Not far from there, members of the Coalition of Citizens and Organizations Committed to Rail Safety in Lac-Mégantic will lay flowers on the railway tracks.
Gilles Fluet was one of the first to see the train derail. The “little last beer” he refused his friends that evening on the night of July 6 probably saved his life.
“I had left the Musi-Café for five minutes. I was going up with a couple of friends, and when I crossed the track, something strange happened to me in the back. I turned around: they were tanks, no engines, no lights, no horns, no brake noises…”, recounted Mr. Fluet.
He says he will never forget the cries of distress, the sound of transformers exploding, the oil flowing, the safety valves of cisterns ‘squealing’.
Thursday, Gilles Fluet did not intend to be at the memorial mass. He attended too many funerals there, he said.