Thank you, Mr. Chair.

I want to thank the committee members.

I want to acknowledge Luc Berthold, the member of Parliament for our constituency, Mégantic—L'Érable, in the House of Commons.

My name is Robert Bellefleur. I'm the spokesperson for the Coalition des citoyens et organismes engagés pour la sécurité ferroviaire de Lac‑Mégantic.

My presentation will consist of two parts. The first part will focus on the specific situation in Lac‑Mégantic, while the second part will focus on rail safety in Canada.

The small community of Lac‑Mégantic experienced one of the worst rail disasters of the 21st century in Canada. We're still deeply affected by this tragedy. The town is barely 50% rebuilt now. Trains are running day and night through Lac‑Mégantic. Trains were back on the tracks only three months after the tragedy. Six months after the Central Maine & Quebec Railway, or CMQR, purchased the track, the transportation of dangerous goods started again. Propane gas, sulphuric acid, sodium chlorate, automobile gasoline and various products were being transported on the same slope and curve through the downtown area. In addition, for years, trains continued to be parked in Nantes, right on the hill where the train was parked on the night of July 5, 2013. This practice continued until the recent purchase of the CMQR by Canadian Pacific, or CP.

I want to thank CP for stopping this dangerous practice. However, a great deal of work remains to be done. The track in Lac‑Mégantic was outdated and falling apart. A 2019 report noted 53 faulty rails between Farnham and Lac‑Mégantic. A great deal of work remains to be done to make this track safe.

The people in Lac‑Mégantic are still living with the aftermath of this tragedy. In addition, an independent public inquiry has never been held, despite multiple requests to the government. No action has been taken regarding these requests. This has prevented people from coming to terms with the tragedy. They still don't know the real causes of the tragedy. The key players haven't been identified either. This is a big open wound. We hope that the government will reconsider its position.

We have two recommendations for the committee with respect to the Lac‑Mégantic situation. First, we would like the Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities to make recommendations to the government. Lac‑Mégantic is a special case that requires specific action. We're asking for a permanent moratorium on the transportation of oil by rail through Lac‑Mégantic. I'm not talking about oil that we use at a local or regional level, but about oil that leaves Alberta or Dakota and goes to other countries. This oil poses several risks to people, who don't benefit from it.

We want the committee to recommend to the government that a permanent moratorium be placed on the transportation of oil given the specific situation in Lac‑Mégantic. Many dangerous goods already pass through our community. We need a bypass because trains must stop running on this slope and on curves. Lac‑Mégantic needs a bypass. We don't want to see any more oil unit trains. The public unanimously agrees with this.

We want to see an independent public inquiry commission that will look at the Lac‑Mégantic tragedy. In the case of Air India, it took over 10 years to set up a public inquiry. We've been waiting for eight years for an inquiry. Rest assured, we'll stay the course for a few more years.

This concludes the first part of my presentation, which focused on the Lac‑Mégantic situation.

I'll now begin the second part of my presentation, which concerns rail safety in Canada. My brief includes a list of statistics published by the Transportation Safety Board, or TSB, on the Internet and in the media since 2016. The number of rail accidents in Canada has been steadily increasing since 2016, and even since the Lac‑Mégantic tragedy, I believe. The issue is only getting worse. Hundreds of accidents involving the transportation of dangerous goods are occurring.

Fortunately, these accidents don't occur in urban areas. Fortunately, these disasters took place in areas where there's less of a direct impact on humans. However, the environment and nature suffer from the impact.

On July 10, 2020, Radio‑Canada reported that the number of rail accidents had increased by 42% in the past 10 years. These statistics come from the TSB. This phenomenon shouldn't be taken lightly. It's a strong trend.

I said that these accidents didn't take place in urban areas. However, we should remember the accident on November 10, 1979, in Mississauga, where a train containing 90 tons of chlorine derailed. This resulted in a precautionary evacuation of 284,000 people and the creation of a toxic cloud. Trains of this nature are currently passing through Lac‑Mégantic. Moreover, about ten derailments occurred between 2005 and 2015, which are included in the TSB statistics.

Oil transportation is a real issue because the rules have been changed.

I have here safety advisories issued by the TSB. For example, according to advisory 617‑03/20, the TSB found that our rails—