e-2000 (Rail transportation)

Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled

• The rail tragedy of July 6, 2013, in Lac-Mégantic is one of the most serious human and environmental disasters in Canada in modern times;
• The federal government has already held commissions of enquiry into the derailments in Mississauga, Ontario (Grange Commission, 1980) and in Hinton, Alberta, killing 23 people and injuring 95 others (Foisy Commission, 1986);
• Coroner Martin Clavet concluded that the 47 deaths from the Lac-Mégantic tragedy were preventable;
• The number of rail incidents/accidents has not decreased in Canada since the Lac-Mégantic tragedy and the Transportation Safety Board (TSB) has deplored a significant 21% increase in the number of rail incidents/accidents in Canada in 2017 compared with 2016;
• The steady increase in the transport of oil and hazardous materials on rail that is in disrepair also endangers the lives of rail workers;
• The National Assembly of Quebec, the Bloc Québécois, the NDP and the Green Party have called on the federal government to promptly launch a public inquiry into the circumstances of the Lac-Mégantic rail tragedy; and
• An independent commission of inquiry would shed light on the tragedy by identifying gaps in rail safety regulations that currently allow private companies to manage rail safety on their own.