Horne Foundry of Rouyn-Noranda | Blockade of opposition to the limits proposed by Quebec

Greater and faster reductions in polluting emissions from the Horne Foundry than what is expected by Quebec were called for at the public consultation on the subject, Tuesday, in Rouyn-Noranda.

Jean-Thomas Léveillé
The Press

(Rouyn-Noranda) “I am outraged to know that my fellow citizens and I do not have the right to the same air quality as elsewhere in Quebec,” exclaimed Laurie Paquin with emotion.

The young woman who has lived in Rouyn-Noranda since 2016 feels “betrayed” since she knows that she runs a greater risk of developing health problems in her adopted city.

“I request the achievement of the intermediate target of fifteen nanograms [d’arsenic par mètre cube d’air] not within five years, but within a year”, and compliance with the Quebec standard of 3 ng/m^⁠3 “no later than five years from now,” she added.

The same thing was demanded by almost all of the people who spoke on Tuesday during the two public consultation sessions that the Quebec Ministry of the Environment and the Fight against Climate Change is conducting on the subject of the framework he intends to impose on the foundry for the next five years.

“The smelter should close and reopen when it reaches the 3 ng/m standard^⁠3 said Abitibi environmentalist Henri Jacob, stressing that workers should continue to be paid while waiting so as not to have to pay for their employer’s inaction.

Worried young mothers

Only the imposition of the 3 ng/m standard^⁠3 is fair to the whole population, argued various participants.

“How am I going to live and look at my daughter and tell her: ‘I knew that you weren’t entitled to the same standard’,” exclaimed Valérie Plante Lévesque, who lives near the foundry. and who is torn at the idea of ​​staying there.

Janie Savard gave birth to a low weight baby who now suffers from asthma.

“I have to live with the guilt that my son is at 3^e percentile and has respiratory problems, ”she said, saying she was exasperated by the historic inaction of the authorities.

The very idea that the population be consulted on the exemptions to be granted to the company has been widely criticized by many, believing that it is up to Quebec to force it to comply with the regulations.

“When the plumbing breaks at our house, I call the plumber and he does his job ; you, you are the Ministry of the Environment, do your job”, launched Maurice Duclos.

Reduce contaminated inputs

Quebec should require the foundry to stop using inputs with high levels of arsenic, suggested many participants, such as Lise Côté.

“Let us ask for a reduction at the source, she claimed. It would be a way to reduce its emissions. »

“Inputs are something that will definitely be looked at,” replied MELCC Deputy Minister Marc Croteau.

The government’s indulgence towards the Horne Foundry has lasted long enough, various participants felt, calling for it to be subject to a more restrictive ministerial authorization.

“They’ve been there for 100 years, it seems to me that the progression has lasted long enough,” launched Julie Bonapace.

The D^r Frédéric Bonin recalled that the outgoing Minister of the Environment and the Fight Against Climate Change, Benoit Charette, had said last summer that the requirements that Quebec proposes to impose on the Horne Foundry could be tightened if they did not meet lack of public approval.

“What I see, he said, is not social acceptability. »

The public consultation continues online until Thursday and Quebec intends to make a decision concerning the renewal of the ministerial authorization of the Horne Foundry “by the end of November”.

Railway blockage

A dozen demonstrators blocked the railway line leading to the Horne Foundry on Tuesday afternoon, “to prevent the arrival of contaminated inputs” at the company’s facilities. The collective Les métronomes de l’espoir estimates that the foundry is capable of meeting the Quebec standard of three nanograms of arsenic per cubic meter of air (3 ng/m^⁠3) by reducing the quantity of material treated, “including the most concentrated arsenic inputs”. Foundry workers should not be sacrificed by this cutback, the group adds. “Glencore has the means not to poison us,” say the demonstrators in a press release distributed on the spot. The train they were expecting around 4:30 p.m. did not come; they left the scene around 6:30 p.m.