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Investigating the Lac-Megantic disaster

Nov. 28, 2013 – Many of the 47 casualties in Lac-Megantic were inside the popular bar, Musi-Café. Investigative reporters with The Globe and Mail spent several months documenting the tragedy through the eyes of the survivors. | READ MORE

Dec. 2, 2013 – The number of tankers carrying crude oil grew from 8,000 to nearly 400,000 in just a few short years. However, as Globe and Mail investigators point out, no new rules were put in place to manage the increase, leading to the oil-shipping free-for-all that brought disaster to Lac-Megantic. | READ MORE

Dec. 3, 2013 – The train derailment and fire alone were not the sole perpetrators of the extensive devastation in Lac-Megantic. There were warning signs that the crude oil taken from the Bakken region, which straddles North Dakota and parts of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, was different – so light that it hardly needed refining, and so loaded with gases and other compounds that made it much more corrosive and volatile than regular crude. | READ MORE

Dec. 4, 2013 – Some Canadian railways predate the towns that they divide. As trains continue to use these federally-governed railways, thriving towns build up around the tracks. The result is a powerful railway company that doesn't have to listen to city officials, and a town that is unable to enforce regulations. | READ MORE