Sanimax could have to close its Rivière-des-Prairies plant if the City of Montreal applies, as it wishes, a stricter regulation on odors. This possibility, which would delight the neighbors of the facilities, would however destabilize the entire Quebec food chain, which depends on the company to process what comes out of the slaughterhouses and recover the oils used by the restaurants.
“If we have to comply with the requirements of the modification as they stand, we will have no choice: we are closing the Montreal plant [qui emploie plus de 300 personnes] in 18 months”, drops Martial Hamel.
The CEO for North America of Sanimax confirms to the To have to having taken steps with the government to suspend the adoption, in June, of a by-law adopted by the Metropolitan Community of Montreal.
It proposes to further regulate rendering activities, ie the collection and processing of animal by-products that come out of slaughterhouses and that grocery stores and butchers do not want. Among other things, the Montreal Metropolitan Community (CMM) wants to tighten the opening hours of Sanimax, owner of the only plant of this type in Montreal, and force the company to respect an odor threshold at all times. But this threshold is so low, believes Mr. Hamel, “that even the [restaurants] McDonald’s are going to have a hard time respecting it”.
The by-law also grants the City of Montreal the power to revoke or suspend permits in the event of non-compliance. It also gives Sanimax 18 months to build a garage to accommodate the trucks that come to unload their goods. “The garage is a solution that we had proposed [dès 2020], but we still haven’t received the zoning changes that allow us to build. And the City retreated [en août 2021] discussions we had together,” he says.
In a letter sent to the Government of Quebec in mid-July, Sanimax describes the approach of the CMM and Montreal as “disguised expropriation”. The criteria are unrealistic for a company operating in this sector, says Mr. Hamel.
The City of Montreal refused a request for an interview on this subject. In her written response, she says: “For us, the important thing is that the citizens of Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles regain their quality of life as quickly as possible. »
It is clear that the cohabitation between Sanimax and residents of the neighborhood is difficult to say the least. Complaints have indeed multiplied in recent years. A class action suit against the company was recently filed in the Superior Court of Quebec to force the Quebec multinational to put in place measures to reduce odors described as “nauseant” and “fetid”.
Agrifood on the alert
However, while the impasse between Montreal and Sanimax continues, it is the Quebec agri-food industry that is on the alert. A slowdown — or cessation — of the activities of the multinational’s Montreal plant would have a significant impact on the entire sector, and this, at the provincial level.
The Rivière-des-Prairies site alone collects and processes almost all of what comes out of slaughterhouses in Quebec. Each week, five million chickens and 175,000 pigs are processed there. Added to animal by-products are used oils from restaurants. Each year, 25,000 trucks enter and leave the site.
“Sanimax is an extremely important player in our production chain. We are following very, very closely what is happening in the file,” said Richard Vigneau, spokesperson for Olymel, the province’s largest processor. Similar story at Sollio — the former Coop fédérée — whose members “are both suppliers and customers of Sanimax,” explains Simon Baillargeon, v.-p. business development and strategic advisor to the cooperative. Indeed, breeders use the “animal and vegetable fat” that comes out of the factory as inputs in the food for their animals.
Suddenly, a domino effect is to be expected if the factory slows down its activities: the cost of inputs will increase, which will have an impact on the price of what is sold in grocery stores and butchers, he notes.
But beyond the economic and commercial issues, there are those related to public health: “Rendering is an activity that is also sanitary. If we don’t pick up the animals on the farm, they could be buried anywhere, in a field or in a producer’s woodlot. And then, with the flow of water, it could end up in the groundwater. »
The issue goes far beyond the mere consideration of a municipality’s odors, according to Dimitri Fraeyes, vice-president for innovation and economic affairs of the Conseil de la transformationalimentaire du Québec: “We only have to think of the environment because what we are seeing in this file is that there is opposition between a regulation on odors and another on the management of residual materials. »
Mr. Fraeyes recalls that municipalities should, in 2020, have diverted from landfill sites 100% of the organic matter generated on their territory. “They didn’t hit those targets, so it was pushed back. They must now divert 70% by 2030. I wonder about the ability of municipalities, including Montreal, to achieve their goals if rendering plants close,” he said.
In the replies communicated in writing to the To have to, the City of Montreal indicates for its part that no “complete plan allowing the achievement of the regulations has ever been filed” by Sanimax. She maintains that the “technological solutions that we want for Montrealers exist, they have been proven and they are used elsewhere in the world”.
Asked about her refusal to resume discussions over the past year following requests from the company and the Quebec Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPAQ), she now says she is “very open to restarting discussions with the MAPAQ and Sanimax” to work on the development of a government action plan at the provincial level which would aim to reduce odors and ensure a better quality of life for residents who live near of this type of plant.