Madam Speaker, I would first like to thank the hon. member for Mégantic—L'Érable for his question and for his interest in the Lac-Mégantic bypass project. I share his commitment to this project, which will help restore the communities in the greater Lac-Mégantic region.
I recently met with the mayor of Lac-Mégantic and the mayor of the municipality of Nantes. I understand the concerns of the local elected officials and the community members who want to see the project completed as soon as possible. I want to reassure them that this project is of the utmost importance to our government. It is very important for me to know that the bypass project is moving forward quickly, and that the needs of the families and citizens of Lac-Mégantic, Frontenac and Nantes will be taken into consideration.
Since the project was announced in 2018, significant progress has been made. The provincial environmental assessment process, including public hearings by the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement, or BAPE, has been completed. The feasibility study conducted by AECOM on behalf of the Town of Lac-Mégantic was also completed in late summer 2020.
Over the past few months, additional engineering work was done by Canadian Pacific in co-operation with Transport Canada in order to relocate rail activities in the Lac-Mégantic industrial park. That was not part of the feasibility study, but it is now part of the project. This addition to the project responds to many requests from the community and local elected officials. The Government of Canada responded positively to this request because it was another measure that supported the well-being of the people of Lac-Mégantic.
I would like to provide a detailed plan in response to the motion that was unanimously adopted by the House on May 25. Today, May 27, the Government of Canada and Canadian Pacific reached an agreement that makes it possible to launch the planning and specifications phase of the project, which involves working on construction plans, conducting additional environmental studies and obtaining all of the necessary authorizations for construction. This is a major phase and another step toward this project's implementation.
This social reconstruction project is and will remain a priority for the Government of Canada until it is complete. The construction phase should begin in the spring of 2022, once the regulatory authorizations have been obtained. I would like to reassure the mayors and residents of the greater Lac-Mégantic region and tell them that we are working hard on this project in order to complete the work in 2023, as we announced.