Horne smelter: Quebec will spend $88M to help move nearly 200 families

Rouyn Noranda: Too little too late? Critics say Quebec isn't doing enough to slow arsenic emissions from the Horne smelter.

The Quebec government and the City of Rouyn-Noranda promise to accompany citizens who will be relocated because of arsenic emissions from the Horne smelter in "each step" and that the operation will be done gradually.

Quebec will pay $88.3 million to support the city in relocating nearly 200 families living in the Notre-Dame sector.

The company Glencore, which owns the smelter, will acquire, at its own expense and by mutual agreement, the buildings and land in the area.

The multinational will determine the price of the buildings, but the owners will be accompanied and advised by a committee composed of members of the Quebec government and the City of Rouyn-Noranda.

Glencore will demolish 82 buildings, decontaminate the soil in the area and then green the area so that it becomes a buffer zone.

Citizens "will be able to live in their homes until their new homes are ready," said Municipal Affairs Minister Andrée Laforest at a news conference.

In the national assembly on Thursday morning, Minister for the Economy Christopher Skeete indicated that "no one will be forced to leave their home if it is not their choice."

CREATING NEW HOMES

The $88.3 million to be disbursed by the Quebec government includes $58 million to create new homes to relocate citizens in the Notre-Dame sector. The city and the government do not know where these homes will be built, and the operation could take several years.

When asked why the government, not Glencore, will pay for the creation of a new neighbourhood, Laforest said that the government has a responsibility to ensure "the health and well-being of citizens."

The minister explained that financial assistance will be available for tenants who find a home that costs more than they are currently paying.

"A psychosocial support intervention team will be available at all times," he added.

The government intends to meet with each citizen affected by the relocation to find out their needs.

Authorities could, for example, "consider the mobility needs" of residents who do not have a vehicle, according to information provided in the technical briefing.

Many low-income families live in the Notre Dame district, and some of them could therefore get funding for their transport needs if new housing is built away from the city centre.

The $88.3 million package also includes a series of measures that, according to the government, "will increase knowledge of the impacts of the various contaminants emitted by the Horne smelter, stimulate local development, increase the attractiveness of the region, and ensure that the actions that will be taken are carried out properly."

15 NANOGRAMS TARGET IN 2027

The government also unveiled on Thursday the new ministerial authorization for the Horne smelter.

This requires the company to reach the target of 15 nanograms per cubic metre (ng/m3) in year 5 of the permit, i.e. in 2027.

The Ministry of the Environment also imposes arsenic emission thresholds of 65 ng/m3 in the year 2023 and 45 nanograms for 2024, 2025 and 2026.

The previous agreement, which was signed with the Liberal government in 2017, allowed the smelter's arsenic emissions to reach an annual average of 100 ng/m3, 33 times higher than the standard of 3 ng/m3.

The government also requires the company to submit an action plan by 2027, to eventually reach the three ng/m3 standard.

However, no timetable has been set for achieving this standard.

The new permit also requires the smelte reduce its discharges of cadmium, copper, nickel and lead from 2027.

"I am firmly convinced that with the measures announced today, we are better protecting the health of the population of the Notre-Dame district and Rouyn-Noranda," said Environment Minister Benoit Charette in a news release.

The Horne smelter is the only copper smelter in Canada. Its managers planned to react to the new authorization late Thursday afternoon.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on March 16, 2023.