Lac-Megantic victims aim to sue Ottawa for allegedly failing to stop railway
MONTREAL – Victims of the Lac-Megantic train disaster are aiming to sue Ottawa for allegedly failing to prevent a railway from shipping highly explosive cargo through their town.
A runaway train carrying crude oil derailed last summer and exploded in the centre of the Quebec community, killing 47 people and destroying part of the downtown core.
The lead lawyer for an existing class-action suit has now expanded the long list of defendants to include the Attorney General of Canada.
That office delegates regulatory powers to the Canadian Transportation Agency and Transport Canada.
Lead lawyer Daniel Larochelle alleges Transport Canada did not sufficiently sanction the Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway, even though the department was aware of the company’s repeated violations, including train drivers allegedly failing to apply a sufficient number of brakes.
The motion alleges Transport Canada was “grossly negligent” in its oversight role related to the MMA.
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