Former railway inspector Richard Labrie, who was fired after the Lac Mégantic tragedy, spoke emotionally about the events at the commemoration ten years later.
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“I liken it to a little monster in my head. The monster comes out and I flatter him. I caress him a little, I flatter him. I’ll talk for a bit and then he’ll go back to bed, until next time…”
VAT News
Richard Labrie, former railway inspector
Mr Labrie was the railway inspector on the night of the tragedy. He had informed Thomas Harding, the train’s conductor, that he did not need to return to secure the convoy.
The oil-filled train then derailed in downtown Lac-Mégantic, causing a gigantic explosion.
Photo courtesy of True
“The shock was hard. I haven’t watched TV for a long time, more than a month, I haven’t seen anything, I stayed at home,” he confides to TVA Nouvelles journalist Mélissa Fauteux.
The three former Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway (MMA) employees Thomas Harding, Jean Demaître and Richard Labrie have been charged with criminal negligence that has resulted in the deaths of 47 people. However, all three were acquitted in 2018 after a 14-month trial.
Richard Labrie always speaks with a heavy heart, even though several years have passed since then.
“There was the accident, the tragedy, the arrest. There was the trial, there was the post-trial, and then there’s the tenth [anniversaire].”
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Effigy commemorating the Lac-Mégantic tragedy
“We are not the same and we cannot go back as before. The tracks are too deep, too hard. We can’t come back like before…”
Mr Labrie said the impact of the tragedy was not just psychological.
“From a financial point of view, the slap was terrible. I will be 65 in a month and there is no question that I am drawing my pension. I still owe my lawyers a large amount.”
At the time of the interview, Mr. Labrie did not know if he would be attending the memorial service.
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Mass to commemorate the Lac-Mégantic tragedy
“I often think about going there. It will be difficult, but it will be a big step.
Despite obvious nervousness, he finally attended the fair.
A symbolic gesture that will help him turn the page.
***Watch the full interview in the video above.***