The residents of Frontenac, in the Lac-Mégantic region, voted 92.5% against the possibility of establishing a railway bypass. If it is desired by many people since the rail tragedy of 2013, the project nevertheless arouses its share of discontent, some elected officials and citizens opposing it.
“I’m going to meet my municipal council because it’s always him who decides. We will discuss that, then we will see what direction we will take following these results, ”said the mayor of the municipality, Gaby Gendron, on Sunday evening.
More than half of the 1,300 residents of the municipality able to exercise their right to vote took advantage of it, ie 697 people. No less than 92.5% voted against the federal government’s proposed route that would cross their municipality.
INFOGRAPHIC THE PRESS
Map of the Lac-Mégantic region, with the route of existing and planned railway lines
Known for his reservations about the bypass project, Mayor Gaby Gendron had notably expressed fear in recent years that the land would be “split in two”. However, his administration had finally accepted that the project be carried out, under certain conditions.
He showed little surprise by the results of Sunday evening. “A telephone survey was conducted and 90% of the population voted against the project. Except that the different levels of government said that it could be biased because it had been made by citizens, ”he recalled.
The elected officials then said they feared the “impacts on the groundwater table and the quality of the water in the wells which would result from the construction of the bypass”. A referendum was announced soon after.
It must be said that for several months now, the railway bypass has been losing its social acceptability. In April, The gallery reported that the Coalition of Citizens and Organizations Committed to Rail Safety in Lac-Mégantic fears that Canadian Pacific (CP) wants to make this new line an “intercontinental transportation highway for hazardous materials”1.
Construction “as soon as possible”
More recently, in January, the federal Minister of Transport, Omar Alghabra, went to Lac-Mégantic to discuss the bypass with the mayors of the municipalities concerned, the local MP and citizens. He then declared that he wanted to prioritize the start of construction “as soon as possible”, by providing for measures to “mitigate” the environmental impacts as much as possible.
After the meeting, the mayor of Lac-Mégantic, Julie Morin, declared that the minister had informed her of his desire to continue with the planned route, “with a wish for construction in the fall”.
According to Mme Morin, the fact “that there has not yet been a shovelful of ground in this project” as the 10e anniversary of the tragedy is a “shame”.
“It’s the hope that diminishes with each passing year. It’s been a count of five times today that the train whistled past through the heart of downtown in the exact same spot where it derailed. I can tell you that this is not an easy situation. There has also been a breach of trust with Transport Canada and with the railway companies since July 6, 2013, so that adds a layer of complexity, ”explained the mayor in particular.
The mayor of Frontenac, however, sees things differently. “Minister Alghabra said in front of a witness that social acceptability was as important for the people of Frontenac as for the people of Lac-Mégantic,” he said Sunday evening.
It remains to be seen whether the federal government will still go ahead without a consensus of the two neighboring municipalities or whether it will propose a new route. “We often talked about the layout of the half-bypass, but it was rejected out of hand by [le fédéral]. We will see if he decides to put it back on the table or not, ”says Gaby Gendron.
On July 6, 2013, 47 people lost their lives in the worst rail tragedy in Canadian history. A train filled with crude oil rolled down a slope upstream from the municipality before derailing in the heart of downtown Lac-Mégantic, triggering explosions and a huge fire.
With The Canadian Press