The Fédération québécoise des municipalités is definitely requesting it.
It may also be a good idea to define what is meant by "in real time". The point is not necessarily to know that the train will be coming through in five minutes and that it is transporting a particular quantity of such and such a product. We will not be calling out the fire trucks and stationing them alongside the rail line in the event an incident may occur.
When we say real time, that means we would like to know what goods will be transported across the region over the next few days or months. That way, we can determine whether we are ready and whether our equipment is adequate should something happen. Being ready does not mean that every village should equip itself in the same way as New York. What I want is for us to know what we really can expect.
When the accident occurred in Lac-Mégantic, I asked myself a few questions as mayor. If a similar tragedy occurred in our community, what would I do? How would I react? I realized I did not have the necessary tools.
Having the information in real time means being certain we have accurate knowledge of the risk our region is exposed to. I believe we are extrapolating when we say that means requesting information on every train that passes, the time at which it passes and in how many minutes it will be passing. I think that would constitute a risk because people might misuse that information. That is not what we are seeking. What we want is to be informed about the goods concerned, the quantity of goods and the level of risk they present in our region. That is what we are after in requesting information in real time.
As I said a little earlier, we especially want to be informed if the transported goods vary. There is no problem if they are the same goods as those that passed through last quarter or last year.