Latest news with #Stablex
CBC
02-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
Quebec Superior Court rejects Blainville's injunction request against Stablex expansion
Quebec Superior Court has rejected the City of Blainville's request for an injunction to suspend the expropriation of protected land for the expansion of a hazardous waste landfill site owned by Stablex, an American company. The decision was released Wednesday, about a week after the provincial government pushed through a bill that will allow the owners of the landfill to expand the facility for an additional 40 years of storage. According to Superior Court documents, the injunction request was rejected, in part, because of the pressing public need for Stablex's services and to prepare the site. The expansion work on the disputed land is expected to begin shortly, as the clearing must be completed before April 15, the date new federal regulations on migratory birds come into effect. The ruling says granting a stay or injunction would cause "real and significant harm to the public interest," and though sympathetic to Blainville's arguments, the city is essentially questioning whether lawmakers made the appropriate decision. This doesn't provide enough reason for the court to delay or pause the decision, the ruling says. Premier François Legault convened a special assembly last Thursday to complete the review process for Bill 93. The session continued overnight, and the bill was finally adopted by a vote of 61 to 31 on Friday. The three opposition parties rejected the bill, which also grants extraordinary powers to the government and does not allow "any judicial review provided for in the Code of Civil Procedure" except on a question of jurisdiction. Stablex and the Coaltion Avenir Québec (CAQ) government have been locked in a public dispute with the City of Blainville about expanding the facility that treats and buries toxic waste, contaminated soil and other hazardous materials north of Montreal. The site is the only one of its kind in Quebec, and Stablex says if it doesn't start work on the expansion project next month, it may have to suspend operations. The contentious legislation passed by the Quebec government expropriates land from Blainville to enable Stablex to expand its hazardous waste disposal operations. Shortly after the province's decision, the Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM) and the City of Blainville announced they were asking the Superior Court to suspend the law while its legality is validated.
CBC
27-03-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Quebec government will push through Blainville toxic waste dump legislation
The Quebec government will invoke closure and pass the bill expropriating land in Blainville, Que., to expand a Stablex landfill, Radio-Canada has learned. Despite opposition pushback this week, Premier François Legault has convened the assembly for an extraordinary session starting at 5 p.m. on Thursday to complete the review process for Bill 93. Stablex and the Coaltion Avenir Québec (CAQ) government have been locked in a public dispute with the City of Blainville about expanding a facility that treats and buries toxic waste, contaminated soil and other hazardous materials north of Montreal. Situated in Blainville, the site is the only one of its kind in Quebec, and Stablex says if it doesn't start work on the expansion project next month, it may have to suspend operations. Opposition parties have been asking the Quebec government not to invoke closure on Bill 93. The controversial piece of legislation will force the City of Blainville to sell a parcel of land to Stablex. The organization that represents municipalities in the province, the Fédération des municipalités du Québec, and several municipal councils have spoken out against the bill as they all claim it is an attack on municipal autonomy. Earlier this week, Québec Solidaire officials told the media it suspected that the Legault government intended to pass Bill 93 by invoking closure. "I never thought we were going to end this with the closure. This is unreal and anti-democratic," QS MNA Alejandra Zaga Mendez told reporters on Wednesday. Natural Resources Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina, on the other hand, urged opposition parties to work with the CAQ on this one. "This is an urgent situation that requires us to adjust quickly," she said Wednesday.
CBC
26-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Opposition parties urge Quebec not to ram through Blainville toxic waste dump legislation
Opposition parties are asking the Quebec government not to invoke closure on Bill 93, a controversial piece of legislation that would force the City of Blainville to sell a parcel of land to a private company called Stablex to expand its toxic waste dump. "I never thought we were going to end this with the closure. This is unreal and anti-democratic," Québec Solidaire MNA Alejandra Zaga Mendez told reporters at the National Assembly Wednesday. Stablex and the Coaltion Avenir Québec (CAQ) government have been locked in a very public dispute with the City of Blainville over the last several weeks about expanding a facility that treats and buries toxic waste, contaminated soil and other hazardous materials. Situated in Blainville, the site is the only one of its kind in Quebec, and Stablex says if it doesn't start work on the expansion project next month, it may have to suspend operations. "This is an urgent situation that requires us to adjust quickly," Natural Resources Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina said Wednesday. "I'm asking the opposition parties to work with us," she said. In order to meet Stablex's deadline, the CAQ would likely have to invoke closure on the bill — effectively shutting down debate and ramming the law through — this week. Asked about the possibility, CAQ ministers didn't rule it out. National interest vs. threat to municipal autonomy Stablex and Blanchette Vézina have argued that if the company suspends operations, hundreds of companies in the province will have no place to safely dispose of dangerous materials. The City of Blainville says the expansion threatens an important wetland and forest. It disputes Stablex's urgent timeline and says the company has rejected an alternate site proposed by the city because it would cost more money to expand. Quebec's environmental watchdog, the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE), recommended against the expansion in 2023. The city also has the support of the Montreal Metropolitan Community, the Quebec Federation of Municipalities, environmental groups and all the opposition parties at the National Assembly, who say the bill poses a serious threat to municipal autonomy. They also note that roughly a third of the waste Stablex processes comes from the United States. The CAQ government has maintained it's in the "national interest" of Quebec to ensure there's no interruption in service at the facility, and that Bill 93 is the best way to do that. Liberal, PQ governments closure champs Invoking closure is a controversial way for governments to limit debate and force through legislation. "We're totally against that. The CAQ still has time to take out the bill and to listen to the population," Zaga Mendez said. This would mark the sixth time the CAQ has used the measure, having rammed through other controversial pieces of legislation such as health care reform, the secularism law Bill 21 and immigration reform. That would put the CAQ in a tie with the previous Liberal government, which invoked closure six times. The measure was much more widely used in the past, when it was often used to force through several pieces of legislation at one time. A change to the rules in 2009 limited invoking closure to one bill at a time. The Parti Québécois (PQ) government under Lucien Bouchard and the Liberal government under Robert Bourassa each invoked closure on 53 pieces of legislation. Defending using the measure in 2020, Premier François Legault used a hockey analogy, saying that the PQ was "the Alexander Ovechkin of closure," the Liberals were "the Sidney Crosby of closure," and that his government was "the Dave Morissette of closure."
CBC
19-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
A Quebec toxic waste dump that takes in U.S. material wants to expand. Locals say no way
In a suburb north of Montreal, near a stretch of forest, lies the final destination for industrial waste coming from all over eastern North America. Toxic waste, contaminated soil and hazardous materials are treated and buried on a plot of land in the town of Blainville, Que. The dump has been operating for more than 40 years, but is now the subject of a dispute involving local residents, the municipality and the provincial government amid the backdrop of a trade war between Canada and the United States. The Quebec government has sided with the company, and has tabled legislation, Bill 93, to force the municipality to sell that piece of land to U.S.-owned company Stablex so it can expand its operations. Hearings on Bill 93 are underway this week at the province's National Assembly. What's at stake? The dump is operated by a private company called Stablex, a subsidiary of the U.S.-based Republic Services. Stablex wants to expand the facility, saying that by 2027, it will run out of space. In 2023, Quebec's environmental watchdog, the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE), described the expansion project as "premature" and recommended that the government not authorize it. Later that year, the mayor of Blainville and all the city's elected officials backed out of the agreement with the company. The Coalition Avenir Québec government in turn put forward Bill 93 to make sure the expansion can go ahead. Where does the waste come from? The dump has been used to treat and bury hazardous materials such as batteries and laboratory waste in Blainville since 1981. Stablex says that most of the waste comes from the province. Roughly 600 companies based in Quebec use the site to dispose of their hazardous waste. But a substantial portion also comes from elsewhere in Canada, and the United States. According to projections in the BAPE report, 59 per cent of the waste is expected from Canada, 29 per cent from the United States and 12 per cent from other Canadian provinces between 2023 and 2032. Why expand? Stablex wants to build an additional, sixth dumping site to meet the projected demand. After originally proposing a site closer to the existing dump, the company proposed one on a plot of land more than a kilometre away from residences, which will minimize noise and smell. The larger site will also allow for operations to continue until 2065 instead of 2040. Michel Perron, the general manager of Stablex, testified at Tuesday's hearings. He said that unless the plan goes forward, hundreds of companies in Quebec will have no place to dispose of their hazardous waste. In an open letter earlier this week, Perron said Stablex should be viewed as "an environmental solution." "We prevent industrial waste from being released into the environment willy-nilly," he said. Quebec's Natural Resources Minister Maïté Blanchette-Vézina told Radio-Canada's Tout un matin on Tuesday that the expansion is "necessary" and "important for the Quebec economy." WATCH | The controversy, explained: Toxic waste dump at centre of battle between Quebec government and Montreal suburb 15 days ago Duration 3:33 Blainville, Que., residents and their mayor are calling out the government for pushing the expansion of a hazardous waste landfill in their community. Why is the town opposed? Blainville Mayor Liza Poulin, residents and environmental groups have come out against the expansion. All three opposition parties are also opposed to Bill 93, and appeared alongside Poulin Tuesday at the National Assembly. Poulin told a news conference the law would create an "unjustifiable precedent" in overriding the rights of municipalities for the benefit of a private business. The land sought by Stablex includes a combination of wetlands and woodlands. The BAPE report said the site's ecological value stems from its role as part of a larger ecological corridor, which the expansion project would fragment. Last week, residents held a rally outside Stablex. Marie-Claude Beaulieu, a co-ordinator with the environmental group Mères au Front pour la région des Mille-Îles, was among those in attendance. "People are angry," she said. "No one is listening to their voice." Her group is calling for the end of importation of toxic waste from the United States, and a broader review of how toxic waste is handled in Quebec. The Communauté métropolitaine de Montréal (CMM), which represents 82 Montreal-area municipalities, has also condemned the proposed law. The group said the bill would run counter to the principle of municipal autonomy. What's next? The hearings are set to wrap up on Thursday.
CBC
10-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
Quebec cancels meeting with Blainville mayor over expansion of toxic waste dump
Social Sharing The Quebec government is backing out of a meeting it had set for today with the mayor of Blainville, Que., to discuss the expansion of a hazardous waste dump. In a statement to Radio-Canada, Natural Resources Minister Maïté Blanchette Vézina cited the mayor's "change in direction regarding the topics she wanted to address." Mayor Liza Poulin has resisted the expansion project. She says the land eyed by the government is located in a large peat bog, an ecosystem of high ecological value. Bill 93, tabled by the province last month, would force Blainville to cede the land to the government so American company Stablex can build a sixth dumping site — something the company says needs to happen before 2027 when it's set to reach full capacity. Poulin requested an emergency meeting with Premier François Legault last week to discuss the protections of Blainville's peatland and municipal autonomy. After it was granted, she specified she wanted to see the environmental studies supporting the government's rationale and understand why it was seemingly acting against its own environmental objectives. She also wanted to know why the government was awarding special privileges to an American company in the current political context. Blanchette Vézina cancelled the meeting Sunday in a letter obtained by Radio-Canada, saying that instead, she'll gladly hear out Poulin during consultation hearings on the bill. "You wanted to share Blainville's position. However, you've decided to impose new conditions," said Blanchette-Vézina in her letter.
