XPost: can.politics, ont.politics   
   From: ConsRCons@govt.cda   
      
   MM&A was responsible for leveling a town centre and killing half a   
   hundred people.  They declared bankruptcy to protect their asses (aka   
   assets).  They were found to have been carrying less insurance in Canada   
   than in the U.S.  They were ordered to shut down all operations in Quebec.   
      
   And this bloody company has the gall to CHALLENGE the shut-down order?   
   My prediction is that if they try to fight the shut-down order, we're   
   going to see protesters shutting down those tracks for MM&A.   
   _____________________________________________   
      
   By: Allan Woods Quebec Bureau, Published on Fri Aug 16 2013   
      
      
   Lac Megantic: MM&A Railway will likely challenge order to cease operations   
      
      
   There is a “strong possibility” that Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway   
   will challenge a federal order to shut down its Canadian operations by   
   next week, said the railway’s court-appointed overseer.   
      
      
   Montreal, Maine & Atlantic Railway has until Tuesday to cease operations   
   after a probe by the Canadian Transportation Agency determined its   
   insurance coverage and finances were insufficient to cover it in the   
   event of an additional accident.   
      
      
   MONTREAL—There is a “strong possibility” the rail company implicated in   
   last month’s deadly Lac-Mégantic explosion will challenge a federal   
   order to shut down its Canadian operations by next week, said Montreal,   
   Maine & Atlantic’s court-appointed overseer.   
      
   The consideration is being made amid a panic scenario that has the rail   
   carrier looking for firms to lease its tracks or buy the ailing business   
   outright.   
      
   “Everything is on the table” as the company tries to keep its head above   
   water while the financial claims against it continue to mount.   
      
   “If the company was to find an operator until a purchaser is found then   
   the company would entertain that possibility,” said Gilles Robillard,   
   who was named last week by a Quebec judge to handle the firm’s   
   bankruptcy proceedings.   
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   Talks toward an eventual sale of the short-line railway that operates in   
   the northeastern United States and in Quebec are also proceeding, but   
   nothing will be finalized in the coming days, he said.   
      
   The company behind the train disaster that killed 47 people and wiped   
   out a large swath of the city’s downtown core has until Tuesday to cease   
   operations after a probe by the Canadian Transportation Agency   
   determined its insurance coverage and finances were insufficient to   
   cover it in the event of an additional accident.   
      
   The ruling handed down earlier this week is a potentially fatal blow to   
   MM&A’s bankruptcy plan to pay back its creditors and maintain the value   
   of its $18 million in assets until it such time as they could be sold to   
   another rail company.   
      
   Reports Friday said the company’s attempt to have the CTA reconsider the   
   decision was turned down Thursday. But the fight may not have gone out   
   of MM&A just yet, said Robillard.   
      
   “It’s possible to go to court and ask the judge to suspend the (Canadian   
   Transportation Agency’s) ruling — to stay it — at least to give the   
   company some time to find an alternative to either find an operator that   
   has more insurance that satisfies (the agency), or to obtain the   
   additional tranche of insurance that’s being requested by (the agency).”   
      
   Robillard said there is a “strong possibility” that MM&A will follow   
   this route in the coming days.   
      
   A spokesperson for the agency that revoked MM&A’s certificate of fitness   
   earlier this week said the company can appeal the decision or ask for a   
   re-evaluation when it obtains sufficient insurance. But in this   
   particular case, the company needs a speedy resolution to a situation   
   that could have grave implications for many.   
      
   That includes the many businesses that rely on rail service to receive   
   raw materials and ship products to market, as well as parties like the   
   town of Lac-Mégantic and the Quebec government that have had to pay the   
   company’s bills for the cleanup of soil and water that was exposed to   
   the millions of litres of light crude oil.   
      
   The Quebec government this week ordered Canadian Pacific Rail, who   
   signed a contract with MM&A to transport the petroleum, to help pick up   
   the cleanup tab, which it is so far refusing to do.   
      
   Putting the rail company out of business could make it more difficult   
   for families of the dead and those who have lost homes and businesses to   
   obtain financial compensation through a class-action lawsuit, said   
   Robillard.   
      
   “It depends on the ability of the company to be in operations,” he said.   
   “From the assets of Montreal, Maine & Atlantic they won’t be (satisfied)   
   because between the insurance and everything, the numbers that have been   
   put forward with respect to the contamination costs, we’re talking big   
   money.”   
      
   MM&A’s application for bankruptcy protection pegged the cleanup costs at   
   over $200 million. There have been figures attached to the compensation   
   lawsuits filed by business owners and victims’ families but they are   
   sure to be worth many millions of dollars.   
      
   Robillard also cautioned against the rush-to-judgment against MM&A and   
   said that the various investigations underway — by the provincial   
   police, by the federal Transportation Safety Board — could result in   
   shared blame for the deadliest Canadian train disaster in recent history.   
      
   “MM&A may be responsible, but they may not be the only ones,” he said.   
   “They may not be the only ones who are called upon to assume part of the   
   costs.”   
      
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)