MONTREAL—The former Catholic priest in the Quebec town of Lac-Mégantic says federal political parties should make clear whether they intend to pay for re-routing the train tracks more than two years after the disaster in which a runaway train derailed, Lac-Mégantic.

In an op-ed published in Le Devoir, Father Steve Lemay said the fact that new tracks were laid down over the old tracks may be legal, but is “highly immoral” given the lingering fear caused by the train passing through town.

More than two years after the July 6, 2013 disaster, which destroyed a swath of the downtown core and contaminated the soil and water, Lemay said the train comes and goes as it has always has, though its grinding and deafening noises reawaken residents’ trauma daily.

Such was the case during a trip back to Lac-Mégantic this past summer, in which Lemay overheard his hosts reassuring their young daughter who awoke to the noise of the train during the night.

“Who can reassure their children with sincerity that it’s normal to wake up in the middle of the night, when these noises have already heralded a catastrophe?” he wrote.

He said candidates and party leaders should spell out their plan to restoring calm and confidence in the town, including whether they will re-route the train tracks and how they will increase rail safety.

Authorities in Quebec should put aside partisan interests and ensure that such questions about their own safety and security are front and centre in the upcoming vote.

Only the New Democratic Party candidate in Mégantic-L’Érable has committed to re-routing the train tracks, while the Liberal party candidate has said such a commitment is irresponsible until the completion of a feasibility study and cost analysis.

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