Some Lac-Mégantic residents say Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has failed in what they call his moral obligation to have a rail bypass built around the Quebec town.
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A citizens’ group and opposition party members met in Ottawa on Wednesday to ask Trudeau to move forward on building a track that would redirect trains away from homes and businesses in the town.
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A spokesman for the group said Trudeau signed a petition calling for a bypass in 2013, just days after a runaway train derailed and exploded in the town’s downtown core, killing 47 people.
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But Robert Bellefleur said Trudeau has largely stayed silent since then and has not answered the group’s requests to meet with him personally.
WATCH BELOW: Remembering the victims of the Lac-Mégantic train derailment.
The group expressed frustration with Transport Minister Marc Garneau’s insistence on waiting for the results of a feasibility study before moving ahead with construction.
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Garneau, who has met with the group twice since October 2015, said he understands the impatience but insists the process must follow the rules.
“When the study is completed we can decide, and if we can accelerate the process all the better,” he told reporters.
That’s not fast enough for Bellefleur, who said the town’s residents are still suffering from the psychological effects of the tragedy.
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