On July 6, 2013, a train carrying 72 tank cars of toxic shale oil derailed and exploded. It killed 47 people, spilling six million litres of oil—obliterating the centre of the historic town of Lac-Méganticin southern Quebec.
It was the worst fatal calamity on Canadian soil in over a century.
Forty-seven people died that night, their hopes and dreams obliterated, futures wiped out. Two more victims followed in suicides. Twenty-seven children lost their parents. Families lost their sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, cousins, aunts, uncles. Others lost their friends, lovers, fellow workers, classmates, teammates. No one in the town was spared the grief of their loss.
Their deaths were collateral damage from the culmination of policy decisions stretching back more than the previous three decades. Mutually reinforcing policies of deregulation, privatization, and fiscal austerity as well as power relationships that subordinated government’s obligation to protect the public to the private interests of corporations—all aligned that terrible night.
Cascading tragedies
The Lac-Mégantic rail disaster has left the community with a legacy of economic, health and environment problems, a legacy of trauma, suicide, anger and resentment in the community. Victims’ families and town residents were exploited by legal predators.
Studies by health experts in the years following the disaster found large segments of the population were experiencing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, high levels of anxiety and depression, excessive medication and drug use.
Rosa Galvez, former Laval University professor, and an expert on pollution control and human health, was vacationing nearby that night. Galvez independently conducted research on the environmental impact of the disaster. Her research demonstrated that hydrocarbons were interacting with the water, contaminating the food chain. No comprehensive eco-toxicity study of the damage has been conducted by government. [Galvez was appointed to the Senate in 2016.]
York University Professor Liette Gilbert, who grew up in the nearby town of Nantes, described how those in charge of the reconstruction of the town “manipulated the language of urgency, risk and resilience to impose their agenda on a traumatized community…to stigmatize, devalue and condemn remaining properties and to justify a ready-to-build clean slate that would appeal to developers, investors, bankers and insurers.”
Where things stand today
While many have given in to resignation, Lac-Mégantic is also a story of resistance, determination to prevail, rebuild and pursue justice. Citizens groups, notably La Coalition des citoyens pour la sécurité ferroviaire de Lac-Mégantic, have continued to raise awareness regarding the poor condition of the track, the need for rail safety improvement measures, and ongoing environmental problems.
They continue to demand a public inquiry; to hold company executives and senior officials accountable.
As trains carrying dangerous goods continue to blare as they pass through the town, La Coalition pushes for a railway bypass circumventing the town. Ten years since the government promised to build the bypass, construction still has not begun.
Twelve years after the disaster, the lessons have not been learned in terms of preventing future disasters. A recent report on the transportation of dangerous goods by the Environmental Commissioner in the Auditor General’s Office, warned: “The window for a recurrence of a Lac-Mégantic-type disaster is still open.”
The Transportation Safety Board’s (TSB) Watchlist was created to highlight “those issues posing the greatest risk to Canada’s transportation system.” The latest railway watchlist includes problems with company safety management systems to minimize risk, with uncontrolled train movements, and with fatigue management of railway employees.
Time and again, the corporate game plan in the wake of major disasters is to deny and delay. Considerations of justice for victims are subordinated to those of profit.
Going forward
An essential part of the act of remembrance on the July 6 anniversary is not forgetting what happened, why it happened, and who was responsible. Activists in Lac-Mégantic and across North America continue the fight to uncover the truth behind the disaster, to keep its memory alive, to prevent history from repeating itself.
The Lac-Mégantic Citizens’ Coalition for Rail Safety is asking that on July 6, people safely lay wreaths of wildflowers on railway tracks in their communities in memory of the victims of the Lac-Mégantic rail tragedy.
Bruce Campbell is the author of The Lac-Mégantic Rail Disaster: Public Betrayal Justice Denied, James Lorimer, 2018. He is adjunct professor, York University, Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change; senior fellow, Toronto Metropolitan University, Centre for Free Expression; and former executive director of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
