Quebec opposition attacks the CAQ on copper smelting plant's future
Opposition parties in Quebec City are urging the government to react to reports that Glencore is considering closing the Horne smelter if investments to meet air quality targets are too high.
Horne smelter issue in Rouyn-Noranda is once again taking a political turn after Radio-Canada revealed that Glencore's board of directors was due to meet shortly to decide on the smelter's future, despite the fact that the estimated cost of reducing arsenic emissions has risen by 50 per cent.
"I hope that the CAQ will not give in to these threats and bend over backwards even more," said Quebec solidaire co-spokesperson Émilise Lessard-Therrien.
In her view, the future of the Horne smelter in Rouyn-Noranda is "much more a question of will than of power."
The QS co-spokesperson stressed that "no one wants the company to close" and that "what we want is for it to respect the same standards as elsewhere in the world."
It also noted in a news release that "the federal and Quebec governments have earmarked millions of dollars to support Glencore in modernising the smelter" and that "the multinational has the leeway" to do so.
For his part, Liberal MNA Frédéric Beauchemin said on social media that the "incompetence" of the Coalition Avenir Quebec "is also affecting the development of the whole of Quebec."
"What will the CAQ do to supply the rare minerals that only the Horne smelter supplies to Quebec? What is the contingency plan?" asked the Liberal MNA.
Thierry Larivière, communications advisor to the Confédération des syndicats nationaux (CSN), which represents the smelter's workers, said on Tuesday morning that he was waiting for more information on the situation before reacting.
An investment initially estimated at $500 million
An agreement with the government, which was signed with the Liberal government in 2017, allowed arsenic emissions from the smelter to reach an annual average of 100 ng/m3, 33 times higher than the standard.
In July 2022, a report by the Quebec Institute of Public Health (INSPQ) revealed that, over a 70-year period, between one and 14 Rouyn-Noranda residents would develop cancer if Glencore did not reduce the concentration of arsenic in the air produced by the smelter.
In August 2022, Glencore announced that it was investing $500 million to achieve an arsenic emission threshold of 15 nanograms per cubic metre of air (ng/m3) by 2027, as requested by Quebec public health authorities and the Ministry of the Environment.
In March 2023, the government required the Horne Foundry to put in place a plan that would enable it to meet the target of 15 nanograms per cubic metre (ng/m3) of arsenic from 2027, which, if the foundry meets the target, would be five times higher than the environmental standard of 3 ng/m3.
Last spring, the government also required the company to submit an action plan by 2027, to eventually meet the 3 ng/m3 standard.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Feb. 14, 2024.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Slovakia's populist prime minister shot in assassination attempt, shocking Europe before elections
Slovakia's populist prime minister, Robert Fico, was shot multiple times and gravely wounded Wednesday after a political event in an attempted assassination that shocked the small country and reverberated across Europe.
U.S. intelligence officials wanted to meet with Transport Canada's UFO 'lead'
Canada's transportation department had a UFO 'lead' who tried to 'quell' media interest and planned to meet with U.S. intelligence officials.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver handed a cell phone ticket for using points app in McDonald's drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?
A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.
Ontario's 'Crypto King' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed 'crypto king' from Whitby, Ont., has been arrested in Durham Region after allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million.
Barge hits a bridge in Texas, damaging the structure and causing an oil spill
A barge slammed into a bridge pillar in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a smaller and separate island that is home to a university, officials said. There were no immediate reports of injuries.
Person responsible for 1996 drugging of 'Titanic' crew likely not a local: Halifax police
Halifax Regional Police believe a non-resident could be responsible for the infamous drugging of numerous crew members of the 'Titanic' movie with a hallucinogenic in 1996.
Latest updates on the biggest wildfires burning in Canada
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
OPINION If you think you can’t focus for long, you’re right: Sandee LaMotte
Regaining your focus requires you to be mindful of how you are using technology -- a daunting task if you consider the average American spends at least 10 hours a day on screens.