On July 6, 2013, at 1:00 a.m., a train that had been left unattended on a railway track ran adrift. The convoy of 72 crude oil tanks ends its mad dash in the heart of Lac-Mégantic. Fireballs take over the city center. The lives of 47 people aged 4 to 93 come to an abrupt end. That of the survivors changes completely. At the time of the tragedy, Colette Roy-Laroche was mayoress of Lac-Mégantic; Pauline Marois was Premier of Quebec. They remember, 10 years later, this ordeal for them, for Lac-Mégantic, for Quebec. In doing so, they fulfill, they say, their “duty of memory”. Interview.
Colette Roy-Laroche. It is first of all a duty of remembrance towards the 47 victims and their families. It is also a duty of memory towards all the first responders who faced this uncontrollable fire; to all the volunteers who helped us the same day, the same night and still today to rebuild, to rebuild ourselves; to the members of the Red Cross and all the departments of the Government of Quebec who arrived very early in the night.
Ms. Marois, what memory comes to mind when you think of the Lac-Mégantic tragedy a decade later?
Pauline Marois. I think of the people who fell into my arms, literally, to tell me their pain, then — I talk about it, I still have emotion — telling me that they were counting on me or on my government.
When did you also take the full measure of the disaster?
PM I’ve learned it [le déraillement du train] on TV, waking up at 6 a.m. I always get up very early. I was alone… I called [la] chief of staff [du ministre de la Sécurité publique]. I said, “Listen, where is it? What is happening ? And there, she gave me a little portrait. I mentioned that I wanted to speak to the… — I didn’t know if it was a mayor or a mayor. I didn’t know you, Colette. We didn’t know each other. And she said to me: “She’s a mayor, it’s Madame Colette Roy-Laroche.” Currently, she is there,” etc. So I said, “I absolutely want to talk to him. Then, I want to go to Lac-Mégantic. But—I know what a catastrophe means, a tragedy like this—I don’t want to harm. […] Then, I have a bodyguard who also comes to join me to say to me: “Madame Marois, I think that if it is in the heart of Mégantic, it is not possible that there are no deaths , that there are no casualties. » […] Soon everything else fell apart.
Madame Roy-Laroche, did you learn of the derailment during the night?
CR-L. I found out the minute the train derailed. […] I dressed quickly. With my husband, we took the car to try to go and see nearby, but in the end we had to abandon the car because there were already volunteer firefighters blocking the street… When I saw the he extent of the fire and the explosions that we heard one after the other, immediately, I said to myself: “It is very serious, what is happening to us. And, how will the firefighters manage to control this huge fire which rose to an incredible height in the air? Smoke mushrooms. That’s maybe in the first five, ten minutes, and suddenly I woke up from this nightmare — I thought it was a nightmare, I couldn’t believe it —. And there, I said to myself: “But Colette, you are the mayor! […] I have to take charge of my role. My first thoughts were: is everything in place to save lives?
Do weeks go by without you thinking about it?
CR-L. No… Every day, the train sirens remind me of the tragedy.
Whether there is a marching order given by the Prime Minister or the Prime Minister, does that change things in the application on the ground of the various government measures?
PM Yes, it changes things because people take more risks. […] It is often said in political science that it takes political will. Well, political will translates into someone who is in authority, who assumes their responsibilities and who makes decisions that are sometimes at risk, but who lives with the consequences.
CR-L. As mayor, I was thinking of the victims, I was thinking of the families, but I was also thinking of the financial aspect of this disaster.
Even just hours after the derailment?
CR-L. Yes, because costly decisions have to be made. […] Our fire chief said to me: “Madam Mayor, to put out the fire, we need foam. We, in Lac-Mégantic, don’t have any. Sherbrooke does not have one. The only place where you can get foam is in Lévis. […] The person at the end of the line in Lévis said to me: “But, Madam Mayor, you have to sign me a paper to tell me that you are going to pay us. I said, “How much does it cost?” She tells me “$350,000”. For a small municipality, $350,000 is a good start for a week. But I didn’t hesitate for a second because I knew very well that Mr.me Marois told me: “Tell us what you want, then we’ll be there.” »
Is it important for a Prime Minister, a Prime Minister to go there and see, firsthand, the effects of a disaster?
PM I think it’s essential. Once again, it has to be done taking into account the circumstances — that’s important. In medicine, we say that the first principle is to do no harm; after that, find solutions. It’s the same thing [en politique].
CR-L. People wanted to touch Madame Marois, because it was so big what we were going through. We wondered how we were going to recover from that. And to see people like Madame Marois, to see Curé Lemay, significant people come to our community, talk to people. We needed those tokens of comfort.
The president of the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic Railway (MMA) came to Lac-Mégantic for a few days. He was shouted down. Is it difficult to manage this will for revenge or at the very least for justice of a population, politically?
PM Of course it is difficult to manage. But Colette was on the pitch, it’s even worse [pour elle]. You have to understand that at the same time. And don’t light the fire.
CR-L. And don’t add fuel to the fire.
Today, 10 years later, have the Méganticois, the Méganticoises obtained justice?
CR-L. The Méganticois still think that there has been no justice in the sense that those responsible are not all affected or targeted or do not suffer the consequences.
Can you believe a train is still going through the city center today?
CR-L. I manage to believe it because I hear it, but what worries me the most and what I am angry about is rail safety. Everyone told us: “You have to know how to draw lessons from the Lac-Mégantic tragedy”, but 10 years later, with the demonstration that is made in the documentary [Lac-Mégantic. Ceci n’est pas un accident de Philippe Falardeau], we realize that there is very little improvement in terms of regulations, monitoring, inspections and investigations. The railway companies do it their way. What is important is more the economy and the money.
This crisis defined you, Ms. Marois, as Prime Minister. It was a highlight of your tenure. Has that changed you as a political leader?
PM I think people discovered who Pauline Marois was more than I changed my way of being and doing.
Ms. Roy-Laroche, has your perception of yourself changed?
CR-L. I remained in those moments the same person. […] I have had many testimonials from women who have come forward [aux élections municipales], either as a councilor or as mayor, saying to herself: “If a woman in Lac-Mégantic is able to manage a tragedy of this magnitude, we too must be able to bring something to our community. »
PM Women need role models. Colette was a model. […] Women often doubt their ability to handle difficult situations, to manage them, to make decisions, even though they are very good. They should trust each other, like Colette.
Is the way the authorities dealt with the rail disaster in Lac-Mégantic a model today?
CR-L Since the tragedy, every time in Quebec and even in Canada and in other countries, a community experiences a tragedy… I always send a message of hope to support the mayor. And several […] draw inspiration from the approach we followed to inform citizens as events unfold [en] tell them[sant] anything we can tell them. […] Also, behind all of this, the person who delivers the message must deliver[r] a message of hope through his attitude, his behavior, the way he talks to people.
PM Communicate, communicate, communicate. People need to have the most accurate information possible, as quickly as possible. […] It’s soothing, in my opinion. And it’s an extraordinary ingredient in crisis management like this. […] I felt that you had the situation in hand, you exercised your leadership and that it was not worrying. I didn’t want to replace myself. That has always been important in my mind.
CR-L. Me, I felt that she [Pauline Marois] was there to help us.
Is there a moment when the adrenaline drops?
CR-L. It took time. The adrenaline hit the night I got home and was no longer mayor.
What do we do when the adrenaline drops, then we come face to face with ourselves?
CR-L. Even though I have children and friends who inquire, to find myself alone at home in front of your plate for meals, it is very painful… very, very painful. But anyway, I said to myself, I managed to get through those two years: the management of the city, the disaster, the illness, the death of my husband… I wanted to give myself time so that all this stress -here come down.
When Mrs. Roy-Laroche finds herself in front of her plate in the evening, and she feels alone, what should she think about?
PM She should think she rescued a whole village, a whole town. She made a difference in the lives of the people she met. If she thinks about that, it will console her, I think. It’s true, Colette, you made the difference.