Eastern Summit | Quebec takes charge of decontamination of industrial land

The provincial government wants to reproduce in the east of Montreal the success obtained with the Bécancour provincial industrial park.

Quebec creates the Land Development Company in Eastern Montreal to acquire, decontaminate and resell contaminated industrial land.

The Minister responsible for Housing, France-Élaine Duranceau, and the Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, made the announcement Monday morning on the sidelines of the Eastern Summit .

Quebec, through Investissement Québec, put a capital of 100 million in the new creature, while the management of the company was entrusted to Fondaction.

“The City of Montreal benefited from an envelope of 100 million to decontaminate and rehabilitate land in the eastern sector of the city,” underlined Minister Fitzgibbon at a press conference. Few owners to date have been able to take advantage of the program. We must therefore work hard. We had also promised a second 100 million, here it is. And if we need to add other capital to the company, we will be there,” he said, inviting the federal government to join the movement.

The Canadian government was quick to respond. “I would like to remind you that the Government of Canada has already given the money to Quebec. It is part of the Canada-Quebec agreement of 7.5 billion on infrastructure, unveiled in 2018. Of this amount, 200 million was reserved for decontamination,” underlined Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Member of Parliament for Hochelaga, Minister of Tourism. and minister responsible for CED.

The spat between levels of government aside, the Company’s goal is to deliver turnkey land to industrialists. “The Bécancour experience is proof of this,” insisted the minister. We will provide the necessary infrastructure to accommodate large-scale economic projects. »

The first efforts will be concentrated on the immense land of at least 650,000 square meters, owned by the oil company Esso, located in Montreal East. Due to its size and its location between Sherbrooke and Notre-Dame, its revitalization is essential to the redevelopment of the eastern part of the territory.

“This is an announcement that has the potential to change the face of eastern Montreal and give this sector the necessary means to move beyond its heavily industrial past and develop to its full potential.” , said for her part Minister France-Élaine Duranceau, on the same occasion.

Reactions

Socioeconomic circles applauded the announcement. The City of Montreal as well. For its part, the opposition sees this as a disavowal of the Plante administration.

“This is excellent news,” said Christian Yaccarini, president and CEO of the Angus Development Corporation, who has long called for Esso land to become public property. For me, this is the big news from the Summit. These lands absolutely had to be taken off the market. They have been barricaded and contaminated for 40 years. We are taking them out of the market and we are going to give ourselves the time and the means to carry out development that holds up. »

“It’s major,” said Jean-Denis Charest, CEO of the Eastern Montreal Chamber of Commerce. The first 100 million is an initial investment. We now have a structure that will be able to accommodate other investors. » He hopes to see the first concrete results of the Society within five years. He estimates the investments announced during the Summit at 750 million.

“These are new funds and to have a structure which will strictly work to find other financing models and to unblock the pitfalls that we have had [avec la première enveloppe de 100 millions], this is excellent news, commented Caroline Bourgeois, vice-president of the executive committee. The first 100 million wasn’t easy. The owners did not necessarily want to decontaminate without the infrastructure in place. »

According to the City, 56 of the first 100 million have now been committed. In particular, funds are planned to decontaminate municipal land in the area of ​​Saint-Jean-Baptiste Boulevard and Highway 40.

The opposition has a completely different reading. For her, the creation of the new company is a takeover by Quebec of the decontamination of land in the East. “When we look at the results obtained by the City, it is catastrophic, only $400,000 was spent in four years out of the first envelope of 100 million,” maintains Julien Hénault-Ratelle, spokesperson for the official opposition in matter of economic development.