The Federal Court has dismissed land owners who are contesting their expropriation by Ottawa to make way for the future railway bypass in Lac-Mégantic.
“We are certainly disappointed. There remains the question of possible appeal [à la Cour d’appel fédérale]. We have a month to change course,” lawyer Jean-Claude Boutin, who represents the plaintiffs, said by telephone.
For his part, Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez celebrated a judgment “which demonstrates that we are doing things the right way.”
“For more than 10 years, Lac-Mégantic has lived with the memory of this tragedy. The train must leave the city center. We are moving forward with the bypass,” he said in a written statement.
The right to expropriate prevails
In his 58-page decision handed down on Wednesday, Judge Nicholas McHaffie rejected the request of the fifteen owners who sought to have the expropriation notices canceled and to stop “irreversible” work on the land.
They accused former federal Minister of Public Works and Government Services Helena Jaczek of “bias” when she gave the green light to the process last year.
The judge maintained that the Canada Expropriation Act and the jurisprudence on the subject “confer[nt] broad discretionary power to the minister”, ensuring that her decision “is subject to a low degree of legal constraint”.
“It is clear that the plaintiffs are opposed to the Lac-Mégantic bypass rail project and the expropriation of their property to carry out this project, and this, with conviction,” explains Judge McHaffie in his conclusion.
“That said,” he continues, “opposition to an expropriation, notwithstanding its good faith and the strength with which it is supported, is not a legal reason to cancel an expropriation or the minister’s decision to confirm it.”
“Worse than Northvolt”
Lawyer Jean-Claude Boutin believes that the planned bypass project is “worse than Northvolt”.
“Northvolt is an investment for the future. The rest of us, it’s for a matter that is not necessary. They are going to destroy the environment, and on top of that, they want to spend 1 billion,” complained lawyer Jean-Claude Boutin.
The Transportation Agency must still give its approval to the expropriation, but to do so, it must analyze a comprehensive plan that Canadian Pacific (CP), owner of the railway since 2019, has yet to flesh out.
This long process does not prevent Transport Canada from preparing the ground to begin work once the Transportation Agency announces its decision.
The bypass project plans to divert the railway from downtown Lac-Mégantic by passing it through the neighboring municipalities of Nantes and Frontenac, to the northwest and east of Lac-Mégantic.
Judge McHaffie points out that the federal ministry received “approximately 1,500 oppositions to the planned expropriations”.
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