Information sessions on Saturday for relocation of residents near the Horne Foundry

Fonderie Horne, a foundry owned by Glencore, is shown in last October in Rouyn-Noranda, Que. in an October 29, 2022 photo. (Stephane Blais, The Canadian Press)

The Housing and Municipal Affairs Ministry is organizing two information sessions on Saturday on financial assistance programs for residents who must relocate away from the Horne smelter in Rouyn-Noranda, Que.

These programs are aimed at residents located in the buffer zone defined in the implementation of the government action plan to support the municipality.

A presentation will first be given to tenants in the morning, followed by another presentation in the afternoon to owners in the buffer zone.

The Government Action Plan to support Rouyn-Noranda, announced a year ago, has a budget of $90.4 million over five years.

Of this amount, $16 million will be devoted to two programs to help residents who have to relocate because of arsenic emissions from the Horne smelter, which are associated with an estimated increased risk of cancer.

Assistance for tenants

The tenant assistance program has three components: severance pay, relocation assistance and assistance with paying the new rent.

Start-up compensation is equivalent to one month's rent for each uninterrupted year of tenancy.

Relocation assistance is intended to cover moving expenses. Each household will receive $2,500.

"Applications can be made until 2028, and the program is eligible until 2029, so the aim is really to give you time to find a new home," said Municipal Affairs Minister Andrée Laforest at a news conference in Rouyn-Noranda on July 3.

Help for homeowners

Assistance for homeowners includes compensation for relocation, flat-rate assistance for ancillary costs, compensation for loss of income and compensation for loss of the guaranteed income supplement.

"Our intention is really to act as a complement to what Glencore is offering homeowners to buy back their homes and to the compensation program that will be developed by the city," said Laforest at the time.

The plan is for Glencore, which owns the smelter, to acquire the buildings and land in the buffer zone by mutual agreement and at its own expense.

The Horne smelter will buy the residences at the price of the land value.

The government, for its part, will pay homeowners the difference between the land value and the new cost.

The Saturday sessions are not compulsory for the owners and tenants concerned. Eligible people can already fill in the financial assistance application form available on the government website.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Sept. 7, 2024.