The Mégantic bypass should finally see the light of day. The first sod of the ground will take place next fall, promises the Minister of Transport of Canada, Omar Alghabra, in an interview.
However, this saga has been going on for years. It was in May 2018, a few months before the provincial elections, Philippe Couillard and Justin Trudeau promised the construction of a 133 million bypass over 12.8 km, which was to be inaugurated in 2022 in the best of scenarios.
Why so late? What happened? Interview with Minister Alghabra.
Q. The bypass was supposed to be completed before 2023. Why are we still here?
A. Our government’s commitment was to build a bypass as soon as possible. But then we saw a lot of concern, discomfort and hesitation in the community. And so we decided to be a little more patient. As we are about to acquire land, we want to be more delicate in our approach to incorporating people’s feedback. I think this balance was necessary in order to be as inclusive as possible during the realization of the project.
Q. The lack of communication and transparency is however the main criticism of the community on the ground. Some learned about the expropriation from the media. How do you explain that?
A. Every effort has been made by Transport Canada and our government over the past three years. I have been in the field personally, at least twice in two years. We regularly had a senior official there who met with the community, mayors and officials. We have done everything to be present on the ground, to communicate, to be inclusive. I understand that some people thought we could have done more. You know, we did our best.
Q. Do you believe these criticisms are deserved?
A. I really don’t want to minimize people’s frustration. Those who say we could have done more, I understand. But I can tell you that I don’t think a government is as committed to the community as we are to Mégantic.
Q. Is there anything you would have done differently?
A. I understand why people find it frustrating – and I sometimes find it frustrating – that when you’re dealing with such a complicated issue, the government tends to use a lot of legalese when dealing with the public, out of necessity to be precise and careful. It may seem insensitive when you try to acquire land to expropriate it, when people are of course attached to their land. I totally understand.
Q. The current alignment will be the one that will be built? No more changes possible?
A. Yes, the current route is that of the bypass that we have chosen after a significant number of consultations and studies.
Q. When will work start?
A. I think it would be irresponsible of me to give you a specific date. We are still in negotiations with the Canadian Pacific and in the process of expropriation. The project must be submitted to the Transportation Authority and we are finalizing a process to monitor the water table. But the plan is to start this fall. I think for the community to heal, the trains need to stop running through downtown.
Q. Knowing that the Mégantic accident was avoidable, could a similar tragedy occur again with the rules in place?
A. We learned a lot of lessons from Mégantic. Many rules have changed. I’m not saying our job is done. We must always be vigilant. I can tell you that we are doing everything we can and I am personally doing everything I can to make sure nothing like this happens again in Canada.