The following letter was sent to Benoit Charette, Minister of the Environment, Climate Change, Wildlife, and Parks, by five civil society organizations, including MiningWatch Canada.
Subject: Request not to give in to pressure from Falco Resources and reject the Horne 5 mining project
Dear Minister,
We are writing to encourage you not to give in to pressure from Falco Resources, which, in a recent media statement, publicly criticized you and the Ministry of the Environment, Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks (MELCCFP) regarding the delays in processing the file following the environmental impact assessment and review procedure (EIA).
We would also like to point out that the civil society and local, regional, and national organizations that we support in this matter are well aware that the main cause of the delays in this case is attributable to the developer itself, namely its insistence on proposing a mining project that directly contravenes the strict application of Article 197 of the Regulation on Air Quality.
We therefore strongly condemn the developer's recent maneuvers to influence and rush your decision on the mining project's authorization, and we urge you to ignore this industrial pressure and take all the time necessary to conduct a rigorous assessment of the Horne 5 mining project.
Finally, considering the seriousness of the impacts and dangers associated with the Horne 5 mining project that were revealed during the public inquiry by the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE) and in the PEEIE regarding air quality, public safety, water protection, mine tailings management, and the social fabric of Rouyn-Noranda, we take this opportunity to urge you to adopt the BAPE's opinions, not to recommend that the Council of Ministers authorize the Horne 5 mining project, and thus to reject it.
We remain at your disposal to collaborate and discuss this matter further.
Sincerely,
Rodrigue Turgeon - National Program Co-Lead, MiningWatch Canada, and Co-Spokesperson, Coalition Québec meilleure mine
Marc Nantel - Spokesperson, Regroupement Vigilance Mines de l’Abitibi et du Témiscamingue
Jennifer Ricard-Turcotte - Co-spokesperson, Mères au front Rouyn-Noranda
Nicole Desgagnés - Co-spokesperson, ARET Committee
Henri Jacob - President, Action boréale