Mulcair pledges inquiry into Lac-Mgantic disaster, rail safety

The NDP's Tom Mulcair, hoping to remind voters in Quebec of the Conservative government's record on protecting public safety, got a first-hand look today at a new Lac-Mgantic as it rises from the ashes of 2013's devastating train derailment.

With three days left until Monday's vote, the party is hoping the rural Quebec visit will be a visceral reminder of the regulatory and safety failures that allowed an unattended, oil-laden train to careenuncontrolled into the heart of the town and explode, killing 47 people.

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Mulcair says an NDP government would seek to reverse the Conservative-driven trend towards allowing industries with a direct impact on public safetyfood inspection and railways in particular to self-regulate.

He says government has to begin playing a more proactive role in protecting the public.

Asked whether it wouldn't be more sensible to expedite pipeline projects like Energy East to better protect the public from oil-carrying tanker cars, Mulcair blamed the Conservative government for gutting environmental protections, helping to make it difficult for such projects to proceed.

Mulcair points out not a single kilometre of pipeline has been built under Stephen Harper's watch.

Earlier this week, a Quebec judge approved the terms of a 450-million-dollar settlement with the victims.

Mulcair hammers Trudeau on Gagnier

The NDP is targeting the Conservative riding of Mgantic-L'rable, previously held by cabinet minister Christian Paradis, as it underlines its promise to invest in rail safety and call a publicinquiry into the issue.

Mulcair is also hammering away at the Liberals over the resignation of campaign co-chairman Dan Gagnier, who gave TransCanada Corp. advice on who in a new government they should lobby about the Energy East pipeline.

He accuses Justin Trudeau of changing his story about when and how much he knew about Gagnier's activity before it became public.

Mulcair says the Liberals are only ever interested in "paving the way for themselves"and anybody who thought that things would change with the Liberals "better think again."