Quebec’s largest landfill gets emergency expansion approved
Last week Quebec’s government approved the temporary expansion of the Lachenaie landfill in Terrebonne, just north of Montreal, CBC News reported.
The facility, which takes roughly a third of Montreal’s trash, is the province’s largest and received emergency approval on June 30 to accept 1.2 million tonnes more waste, to be piled higher rather than enlarging its existing footprint.
The company that operates the site, Complexe Enviro Connexions, is seeking to permanently expand the site to extend its lifespan to 2043, though the environmental assessment remains ongoing.
“This is a transitional and temporary measure which, environmentally speaking, remains subject to the same existing obligations, particularly regarding bio-gas management, odour control, leachate treatment and avian fauna monitoring,” company spokesperson Maxime Doyon told Radio-Canada.
The report goes on to state that the city of Montreal has fallen short of its waste reduction goals, diverting just under 50 per cent of its waste from landfill, compared to its stated goal of 70 per cent.
Government engineers go on indefinite strike
As of Monday morning, nearly 2,000 engineers are on strike across the province, La Presse Canadienne reported. This comes on the heels of more limited strikes on Thursdays, evenings and weekends by the Association professionnelle des ingénieurs du gouvernement du Québec (APIGQ). The union’s members work for several government departments, primarily the Ministry of Transport, but also the Ministry of Natural Resources, Environment and Municipal Affairs. Union president Marc-André Martin said that around 300 members were working to ensure essential services are maintained during the strike, which will impact infrastructure projects across Quebec. The APIGQ’s collective agreement expired in March 2023.
“We would like to remind everyone that we have reached agreements with 99 per cent of public and parapublic sector employees. Given the ongoing negotiations, we will not be making any further comments,” Quebec’s Treasury Board stated about the situation.
Several provinces assist Quebec with forest fires
Several provinces have sent assistance to Quebec’s forest fire fighting agency, SOPFEU, as it battles forest fires across the province, CBC News reported.
Sixty-three firefighters from British Columbia arrived on July 3 to assist, followed by 21 from New Brunswick and 17 from Prince Edward Island the following day. They will supplement Quebec’s 640 forest firefighting personnel already on the ground.
According to SOPFEU’s website, as of July 6, there were 11 active fires in Quebec’s southern protection zone, and 188 active fires in the province’s north region.
“The arrival of these firefighters will enable SOPFEU to handle this significant increase in workload,” SOPFEU wrote in a statement.
