Horne smelter: Announcement coming on relocation in Rouyn-Noranda

Residents angered at Quebec relocation plan Rouyn-Noranda resident Sylvie Nicole is protesting Quebec's plan to move 200 families from a contaminated zone near a copper plant.

The City of Rouyn-Noranda and the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Public Health Department is set to update residents at a news conference in Rouyn-Noranda Wednesday regarding ministerial authorization for the Horne smelter and plans to relocate hundreds of residents.

Last month, the Quebec government announced that it would pay $88.3 million to support the City of Rouyn-Noranda to create a new neighbourhood and relocate nearly 200 families living in the Notre-Dame sector who are exposed to polluting emissions from the Horne smelter. Glencore, which owns the smelter, will acquire the buildings and land in the area at its own expense and by mutual agreement.

In announcing the creation of a new neighbourhood, both the City of Rouyn-Noranda and the Quebec government said they didn't know where it would be built, but acknowledged that the process could take several years.

However, Municipal Affairs Minister Andrée Laforest has announced that financial assistance will be available for tenants who find a home that costs more than they currently pay.

The announcement that families would have to relocate has sent shock waves through the Notre-Dame neighbourhood. Some residents see it as an opportunity to leave an area where the smelter's emissions are associated with an estimated increased risk of cancer, but others say they're feeling sadness and anguish.

Laforest promised that a psychosocial support team will be available at all times for those who are relocated.

The new ministerial authorization granted last month to the Horne smelter requires the company to reach the target of 15 nanograms of arsenic per cubic metre of air (ng/m3) by 2027. The Quebec government also imposes arsenic emission thresholds of 65 ng/m3 in the current year 2023 and 45 nanograms for 2024, 2025 and 2026.

The government also requires the company to present an action plan by 2027 to eventually reach the 3 ng/m3 standard. However, no timetable has been set for achieving this standard.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on April 4, 2023.