(Montreal) The Coalition of Collateral Victims (CVC) of the Lac-Mégantic railway bypass claims to have submitted nearly 1,500 letters of protest to Public Services and Procurement Canada.
These are letters contesting the notice of intent to expropriate for the Lac-Mégantic bypass that were delivered by hand to the Montreal office of the federal ministry on Friday morning, the coalition said on Monday.
They were delivered by the lawyers involved in the dispute file, who were accompanied by representatives of the Union of Agricultural Producers (UPA), according to the CVC.
The expropriation of the owners of land necessary for the construction of the Lac-Mégantic railway bypass was triggered on February 13 by the Minister of Public Services and Supply, Helena Jaczek, at the request of the Minister of Transport , Omar Alghabra.
Ottawa had not then specified how many owners were going to be expropriated.
Initially, 43 owners, whose lots are in the municipalities of Nantes, Lac-Mégantic and Frontenac, in Estrie, were involved in the acquisition process.
The construction of the 12.5 kilometer bypass is the subject of several concerns. The municipal councils of Frontenac and Nantes withdrew their support for the project.
Earlier this month, organizations and citizens asked the federal Minister of the Environment to initiate an environmental impact study, due to their fears of repercussions on drinking water resources and wetlands.
The Coalition of Collateral Victims argues that the project is far from social acceptability, while residents have expressed their opposition, particularly during the referendum held in Frontenac in February. The no obtained 92.5% to the question “Do you approve of the project for the new railway bypass on the territory of Frontenac? “.
Many people nevertheless support the bypass project for rail safety reasons. The new route would avoid downtown Lac-Mégantic, which was devastated in the July 6, 2013 train disaster that killed 47 people.
However, the CVC says that “the bypass route offers a more dangerous route than the current route”, in particular because of the curves and slopes.
She also criticizes the cost of the project, which has risen from 133 million in 2019 to 950 million, saying that this “taxpayer money [est dépensé] for the benefit of the railway company CP (Canadian Pacific) and not for the benefit and well-being of the population, which is mainly opposed to the chosen route”.
Public Services and Procurement Canada did not immediately respond to a request for comment.