(Kingston) The federal government “will be part of the solution” so that nearly 8,000 residents of La Baie, in Saguenay, have access to drinking water again after Ottawa announced last week that the waters and soils of the Bagotville military base were contaminated.
During a press briefing in Kingston, Ontario, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday that he discussed the issue with the mayor of Saguenay, Julie Dufour, during a visit to his region a few weeks ago.
“I know that discussions are ongoing. We recognize the share of responsibility that the military base had in the possible contamination of the water and present in the water,” he mentioned.
Mayor Dufour is “very happy” that the Prime Minister has publicly reiterated his commitment and has great confidence in the federal government’s cooperation, his office told The Canadian Press.
“It was a great burden to be lifted from our shoulders to know that we weren’t going to have to run after the federal government to come and take responsibility at the same time,” said spokesperson Jonathan Blanchet.
In an open letter published the day before, the Bloc Québécois had accused Ottawa of remaining silent, acting “as if the Bagotville base was the responsibility of the City of Saguenay”.
The Saguenéens, “given the flagrant absence of accountability and transparency”, can then expect to have to pay through their municipal taxes “millions of dollars to absorb a crisis of which they are the victims”, wrote the leader bloquiste Yves-François Blanchet and three of his deputies.
The perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) that were discovered at the military base may have come from the firefighting foams that were used by firefighters during training for several decades until a decade ago.
The City of Saguenay indicated that it had recently carried out sampling campaigns for these substances and that “unusual results” were recorded for a specific sector of the borough of La Baie. She attributes the responsibility to the military base.
Temporary measures will first be put in place and will be operational by January. This involves recovering the perfluoroalkylated and polyfluoroalkylated substances at the outlet of the wells and disposing of them appropriately.
In addition, residents who have a private well in the targeted area will be connected to the water system.
On a more permanent basis, the City is looking to identify a new source of drinking water to build a treatment and distribution facility.