The trial later this year for three ex-railway employees charged criminally in the Lac-Mégantic train disaster will be heard by a bilingual jury in another town.
READ MORE: Lac-Mégantic residents call on Trudeau to move forward on rail bypass
A spokesman for the Crown says Quebec Superior Court Justice Gaetan Dumas ruled on the venue and language on Monday as lawyers argue several motions on the case this week.
READ MORE: Driver and owner of train in Lac-Mégantic disaster added to class action lawsuit
The July 2013 disaster killed 47 people in the small Quebec town and forced thousands from their homes as fire from a derailed train engulfed and destroyed most of the downtown core.
WATCH BELOW: The disaster at Lac-Mégantic
-
![]()
Quebec court backlog may cause dismissal in Lac-Mégantic trial -
![]()
Lac-Megantic residents demand safer railways -
![]()
Lac-Megantic firefighter heading to Rio to compete in Olympic weightlifting -
![]()
Gov’t announces new flammable liquid training for first responders in wake of Lac-Mégantic -
![]()
Reconstruction Office opens in Lac-Megantic
Three ex-railway employees – train driver Thomas Harding, railway traffic controller Richard Labrie and Jean Demaitre, the manager of train operations – have pleaded not guilty to 47 counts of criminal negligence causing death.
READ MORE: Lac-Megantic’s Musi-Cafe rises from the ashes
Their bilingual trial is to be held in Sherbrooke instead of Lac-Mégantic and is set to last from Sept. 11 to Dec. 21.
READ MORE: Residents of Lac-Mégantic remember 3rd anniversary of train explosion that killed 47
Conviction on a charge of criminal negligence causing death carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Comments