Question Period Note: Lac-Mégantic Rail Bypass, Reconstruction

On May 11, 2018, the Governments of Canada and Quebec announced the construction of a railway track that will bypass downtown Lac-Mégantic at a cost of $133M. The Government of Canada will contribute 60% of the project costs. As part of the construction of this bypass, the Government of Canada will need to acquire properties belonging to 43 owners in Lac-Mégantic, Frontenac and Nantes.

• The Government of Canada will proceed with an open, transparent and equitable process to acquire the properties needed to build the rail bypass
  • Public Services and Procurement Canada is collaborating and communicating regularly with Transport Canada in order to move quickly on this file while ensuring a fair acquisition process for property owners

If pressed on specifics of the acquisition process:

• For the construction of the bypass to proceed, the Government of Canada will have to acquire properties belonging to 43 owners
• The Government of Canada will pursue negotiations aimed at reaching agreements that are satisfactory to all parties

Summary of PSPC’s role: Transport Canada (TC) has mandated PSPC to acquire the properties and to manage the technical contracts related to the acquisition process. Therefore, PSPC is responsible for surveying and appraising the properties, meeting with the owners to explain the acquisition process, negotiating with them by mutual agreement when possible and, ultimately, implementing the expropriation process in the event of an impasse during the mutual negotiation process.

The property appraisal process began in the fall of 2019. On August 26, 2020, AECOM, the consultant appointed to design a route for the bypass, submitted its final design development report. The right-of-way submitted was technically reviewed by Central Maine & Quebec Railway (CMQ) and TC. PSPC received the final version of the route on May 28, 2021.

On May 25, 2021, federal parliamentarians unanimously passed a motion calling for work to be completed in 2023 in accordance with the schedule. On May 27, 2021, TC, as part of an agreement with CMQ, committed to taking possession of the properties in the winter of 2022.

Two virtual information sessions, organized by TC and attended by PSPC, were held in summer 2021 to inform the property owners that an expropriation process has become unavoidable.

On October 22, 2021, the negotiation process began after offer letters were sent to the owners. This process will take several months to conclude.

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