The Canadian Press
Published July 26, 2022
The Legault government is threatening to close the Horne smelter in Rouyn-Noranda if it does not significantly reduce its arsenic emissions.
The company currently releases up to 100 nanograms of arsenic per cubic meter into the air, 33 times higher than the Quebec standard of 3 ng/m3.
On Tuesday, the government revealed that the smelter, owned by the multinational Glencore, had offered in May to lower its emissions to 60 ng/m3 (or 20 times the provincial standard).
"However, this standard is still too high for us," said Ewan Sauves, press secretary to Premier François Legault. "We have asked the company to go back to the drawing board."
"Our priority is the health and safety of citizens. If the company is not able to reduce its emissions and get closer to the Quebec standard, we do not rule out closing the plant," he added.
Much has been written about the air quality issue in Rouyn-Noranda. On July 6, Quebec's public health director Dr. Luc Boileau declared that the status quo was no longer acceptable.
In the past, the "Liberals have given up" on Glencore, according to Sauves. "Fortunately, this time it's not the Liberals who are negotiating the new certificate. We won't make the same mistake again."
OPPOSITION PARTIES WOULD NOT CLOSE SMELTER
In a press scrum in Quebec City, Liberal Leader Dominique Anglade said she hoped the company would "move towards" the Quebec standard of 3 ng/m3 "as quickly as possible."
"Today, we have information that we did not have 20 years ago. We know the impacts," she said, adding that "the Quebec standard is for everyone."
The co-spokesperson for Québec solidaire, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, also deplored the fact that the smelter is negotiating with the government "its right to pollute more than others."
"Glencore must respect Quebec's air quality standards, period," he said. "The health of the children of Rouyn-Noranda is no less valuable than the health of ... people everywhere in Quebec."
Neither the Quebec Liberal Party nor Québec solidaire are talking about forcing the closure of the Horne smelter, saying they believe the company will eventually meet Quebec's air quality standards.
Both parties also rejected the idea of helping the company financially until it reaches its targets.
-- This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on July 26, 2022.
Melted steel in an iron cauldron. -- FILE PHOTO (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)
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