Jury selection in the trials of the three men accused of criminal negligence in the Lac-Megantic disaster began Monday.
Thomas Harding, Jean Demaitre, and Richard Labrie are accused of criminal negligence causing the deaths of 47 people when a train crashed in the town of Lac-Megantic in July 2013.
Lawyers are weeding through a pool of at least 800 people, searching for those who are willing and able to fairly listen to witnesses and testimony.
Many of those showing up in court Monday morning said they could not do their duty as citizens because they would miss school, miss work, or were in poor health.
The fact that the trial is taking place in Sherbrooke, close to Lac-Megantic, is posing some problems, said defence attorney Charles Shearson, because several people said they knew the victims who died in the disaster.
Two prospective jurors broke down in tears as they told Superior Court Justice Gaetan Dumas of their ties to those who died.
"It's also important the candidates have a good (understanding) of English and French because the trial will take up terms that are complicated and technical to the railway industry," he said.
It's expected it will take three weeks to choose the 14 jurors and two alternates required for the trial, which is expected to last until December.
Harding was the train's conductor who had parked the vehicle for the night. Demaitre was director of railway operations for the Montreal, Maine and Atlantic railway company. Labrie was the controller responsible for trains between Farnham and Lac-Megantic.
Shearson, one of Harding's lawyers, said the defence will argue their client's actions were not criminal.
"Our contention is that there was a lack of security culture within this railway company and you can't strictly judge the actions of an employee who was on the front line and not given the correct tools to apply a proper safety culture," he said.
On the night of July 6, 2013, a train carrying a load of crude oil descended a slope and derailed in the centre of the town, causing a massive explosion and fire that destroyed multiple buildings and left 47 people dead.
Cleaning up the town and rebuilding destroyed and damaged buildings cost hundreds of millions of dollars. It also led to the bankruptcy of MMA.
The company has been indicted on similar counts, but its legal process is separate from that of the three men. It will face trial at a later date.
With files from Giuseppe Valiante of The Canadian Press
