Federal Transport Minister Omar Alghabra travels to Lac-Mégantic on Thursday afternoon to take stock of the start of construction of the bypass with the mayors of the region in a separate meeting.
• Also read: Lac-Mégantic bypass: end of negotiations for owners
He planned to take turns meeting Lac-Mégantic Mayor Julie Morin, Frontenac Mayor Gagy Gendron and Nantes Mayor Daniel Gendron.
There are no public meetings or meetings with journalists on his agenda.
On Friday, Transport Canada announced the end of the amicable negotiation phase for the thirty-odd owners who still refuse to cede a piece of their land for the construction of the new rail line, while hinting that the government will do so shortly advance the expropriation process.
The municipality of Frontenac has to hold a referendum on February 19 to decide whether to continue not to support the project due to the impact on the environment, including on the water table and the private wells of its citizens.
Nantes will hold a special meeting of its council tonight to decide whether to withdraw its support for the bypass for the same reasons, but also because Ottawa has still not responded to its requests for compensation. Nantes would like to be compensated for the land that will be bypassed by the future bypass and which can no longer be used for residential development.