Mr. Speaker, this evening, it is my turn to speak about a matter that is very important to me and that I am very concerned about.
I am the MP for Mégantic—L'Érable and therefore I represent the community of Lac-Mégantic. I think I do need to say more. People know how extremely important rail safety is for us in the Lac-Mégantic area.
The Auditor General of Canada recently released a report on rail safety as a follow-up to the different reports she had already written in the past about rail safety in Canada. One of the main findings she mentioned in her opening remarks before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts was that “the department had yet to fully address our recommendations and that, in fact, there was still much to do to improve the oversight of rail safety in Canada.”
We cannot believe it when we hear things like that. It does not make any sense. However, at the same time, we also think that we need to get things moving, and that is what I decided to do. Rather than just criticizing, I am going to talk about it. I am going to talk about it as often as I can so that things change, so that we can put pressure on Transport Canada, the railways and everyone involved in rail safety to move more quickly. That is what I am doing with the rail bypass that has still not been built. We still do not have a clear and concrete time frame as to when that will be done.
Right now, in the Lac-Mégantic area, there is much debate about whether CP and Transport Canada have told the truth about when this bypass will finally be built. I am trying to contact CP. I am trying to meet with CP representatives. The meetings are put off week after week because of availability issues. That can no longer be tolerated. We cannot wait any longer. We need clear answers, whether it be from the railway or from Transport Canada.
In 2019, there were 1,245 rail accidents in Canada. That number comes from the Auditor General's report. Are my colleagues aware that, in 2019, 72 people died in rail accidents in Canada? Twenty-eight of them died at crossings, six in derailments and accidents involving employees or passengers, and 38 in accidents that occurred when people trespassed on tracks.
All the while, rail traffic has been increasing. Freight tonnage increased to more than 328 million tonnes in 2018. In terms of goods transported, fuel oils and crude petroleum recorded a significant increase by weight of more than 45% from 2017 to 2018. Those are the most recent numbers we have.
Given these findings, I think it is important for Transport Canada to do its job so that we no longer see Auditor General reports with statements like this one: overall effectiveness of oversight activities not measured. Basically, what the Auditor General meant was that, yes, there are more oversight activities, but she does not know what to do with those numbers, and she does not know whether measures introduced over the years have done a better job of protecting people.
To conclude, I invite my government colleagues, Transport Canada and CP, which is responsible for the bypass, to do whatever it takes to speed up the work so that we can finally say that our railways throughout Canada, and particularly here in Lac-Mégantic, are safe.