Expropriation for construction of Lac-Mégantic rail bypass confirmed

MONTREAL – Some Lac-Mégantic residents will be expropriated to allow construction of a rail bypass, the Government of Canada confirmed Wednesday.

The announcement by federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra and Public Services and Procurement Minister Helena Jaczek was issued in a press release Wednesday evening.

“The expropriation, which was requested by Minister Alghabra in order to proceed with the acquisition of the land parcels required for the project, has been confirmed by Minister Jaczek,” reads the document.

The Government of Canada will take possession of the parcels of land required for the bypass on August 1. Public Services and Supply Canada (PSAC) has informed the owners affected by this measure.

“Property owners will receive offers of compensation for their expropriated property by August 1, 2023”, states the press release issued by Transport Canada.

It also states that the Government of Canada has “attempted to reach an agreement with all affected property owners” before initiating the expropriation process.

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“However, for a variety of reasons, the Government of Canada has not been able to sign deeds of sale with all owners,” Transport Canada states, noting that the negotiation period with owners has been extended three times, from October 2021 to January 2023.

“Today’s announcement has been carefully considered. We understand that it may be difficult for some, but it is essential to the realization of this project, which will get the trains out of downtown Lac-Mégantic. We will support the property owners affected by the expropriation announcement throughout the process,” stated Minister Alghabra in the same press release.

On the night of July 5-6, 2013, a train carrying crude oil derailed and exploded in downtown Lac-Mégantic, killing 47 people.

On April 15, a Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CPKC) train derailed on the same rail line that crosses the Lac-Mégantic border into Maine, injuring three employees.

Outraged citizens

The Coalition of Collateral Victims (CCV) of the Lac-Mégantic rail bypass said it was “outraged”, but “not surprised” by the federal government’s announcement.

Many citizens are opposed to the rail bypass project, for which the expropriation process was launched in February. Some are concerned about the impact on the environment and rail safety, as freight trains, which they say are becoming “longer and faster”, pass through the municipality.

“That people are being expropriated and that families who lost loved ones in 2013 are being negatively affected is a grave human tragedy deliberately and consciously created by elected officials,” says the CVC, in a statement released Wednesday evening.

The organization deplores the project’s lack of social acceptability, maintaining that it is a “purely political” initiative, which is being done “to serve the commercial interests of Canadian Pacific and to burnish Transport Canada’s image”.

The Coalition is calling for further studies to assess the project’s impact on access to drinking water, as well as to “evaluate safer alternatives that would have far less environmental and human impact”.

“The CCV will use the legal avenues available to stop the project and avoid another tragedy. Transport Canada will then have to provide the documents, which it has always refused to share, despite repeated requests from concerned landowners and citizens,” the organization said in the same press release.

The Syndicat des producteurs forestiers du sud du Québec (SPFSQ) and the Fédération de l’Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) Estrie also reacted negatively to the government’s announcement.

The two organizations said they were “stunned by the Government of Canada’s decision to confirm expropriation for the construction of a rail bypass around Lac-Mégantic, without taking into account the many arguments presented during the public hearings”, as stated in their press release.

The SPFSQ and UPA-Estrie also claim to be “studying their options” in collaboration with the CCV, as well as the municipalities of Frontenac and Nantes to oppose this measure.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 14, 2023.