CAQ leader Francois Legault said it will be up to the people of Rouyn-Noranda to decide if they want to close the controversial Horne smelter -- not to doctors, people from Montreal or Quebec solidaire.
The smelter emits high levels of arsenic, far higher than the Quebec standard, and this poses risks to the population of the municipality.
In a heated interview on Radio-Canada radio, Legault said that the population must be told the truth and not be distorted.
He also attacked doctors who accused him of trivializing the situation.
The CAQ leader repeated the company's argument that it will not technically be able to meet the Quebec standard for arsenic levels.
"If the majority of the population demands that it meet that standard, the government will close the plant," Legault said.
About 900 people demonstrated last week near the smelter to demand lower emissions.
The plant is allowed to emit up to 100 nanograms of arsenic per cubic metre, compared to a standard of 3 nanograms elsewhere in Quebec. The authorization was renewed for five years and must be renewed by November 2022.
The certification was issued to Glencore by a Ministry of the Environment official on November 20, 2017.
In a recent report, scientists from the Quebec Institute of Public Health (INSPQ) wrote that "historical arsenic and cadmium emissions from the Horne Smelter are associated with an estimated increased risk of cancer exceeding the risk threshold considered negligible in Quebec."
However, as early as 2004, a report from a working group of the INSPQ and the Ministry of the Environment stated: "given the carcinogenic nature of arsenic, the working group believes that it is necessary to adopt a preventive approach aimed at reducing the population's exposure levels as much as possible."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 29, 2022.
