At its regular meeting on June 10, 2020, the MRC d’Argenteuil made public the summary report of the consultation forums and the summary report of the memoirs received as part of its process to identify mining-incompatible territories (TIAMs).

(You can find a link to the entire French-language report at the end of this article.)

The first of these reports, which was prepared by the Institut du Nouveau Monde (INM), presents the conclusions of the two public consultation forums held on December 6 and 7, 2019, which were attended by nearly 90 citizens and organization representatives. The document sets out the collective reflections that emerged from the discussions between participants during these forums. The second report, prepared by the MRC d’Argenteuil, provides a summary of the comments received during the consultation period from November 7, 2019 to January 12, 2020, and aims to summarize the comments and concerns submitted as part of this process.

Some of the comments included:

Require additional criteria and supervision measures for mining activities and their sites of operation

Demonstration respect for the residential sectors, standards for noise and dust intended for the industrial sector

Include Lake Craig and its sector, Include Lake Loughran and its sector, Include Lake McGillivray and its sector (proposal for a five-kilometre protection, or buffer strip)

Include the (Grand) Calumet River

Include the Kingham River

Include social acceptance

Include aquifers

Include ecological corridors

Include unregistered farms (as well as artisanal sugar shacks) and a protective strip (600 m proposed)

Include wetlands, streams , lakes and a protective strip (proposals ranging from the riparian protective strip (10-15m) to 1 km)

Include landscapes and viewpoints of interest

Include private drinking water intakes and a protective strip (1 km proposed)

Include white-tailed deer

Include watercourse recharge areas

Include future recreational trails

Include a protective strip around the Rouge River (proposals ranging from 3 to 5 km)

Include a protective strip around Lake Chantal (1.32 km proposed)

Include a protective strip around Lake Commandant (3km proposed)

Protect the activities of the Amy Molson summer camp — possible nuisance linked to mining activities

Include the Avoca / Rouge River Valley sector

Enhance the protection strip for urban activities and urban perimeters (proposal ranging from 2 to 5 km)

Relaxation of the criterion “urban and residential activity” (grouping of 5 or more lots built)

Remove the motorized trails from TIAM

Removing property from TIAM

The two reports, which are complementary and distinct documents, will help fuel the MRC d’Argenteuil Council’s reflections on this issue.

Moving towards official boundaries of TIAMs

It should be noted that under the provisions of the Mining Act, new sites for mining exploration and exploitation can be prohibited within TIAMs. However, this new power granted to MRCs since 2016 is framed by very precise government guidelines. To date, only a few MRCs have availed themselves of this option. The MRC d’Argenteuil is now working on the preparation of an official delimitation to be included by by-law in its land use and development plan. The MRC will then request a prior opinion from the Québec Government and a public consultation will be held on this draft by-law.

The MRC d’Argenteuil wanted to involve the population early in the process of identifying TIAMs. This collective reflection, unique in Québec, has made it possible to better assess the social acceptability of the criteria for determining TIAMs as defined by the Québec government.

The public is therefore invited to consult the two reports and stay informed on the progress of this ongoing exercise by visiting the TIAM section of the MRC’s website at www.argenteuil.qc.ca.
10 juin 2020: Rapport Synthèse des mémoires reçus durant la période de consultation sur les territoires incompatibles l’activité minière (TIAM)