On Friday, January 30, the Municipality of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge announced that the that the Tribunal administratif du Québec (TAQ) had confirmed the validity of a previous decision by the Commission de protection du territoire agricole du Québec (CPTAQ) dismissing a challenge filed by Canada Carbon Inc. regarding its mining project on municipal territory.
Since 2017 Canada Carbon had been trying since 2017 to obtain a permit to operate a graphite mine in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge. From the outset, the residents of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, as well as the Municipalité régionale de comté (MRC) d’Argenteuil, the Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) Outaouais-Laurentides, and numerous neighbouring municipalities, opposed the project.
Canada Carbon’s request had been taken to the CPTAQ, which is Québec’s agricultural land protection agency, out of concern that development of the mine would harm forest used for maple sugar production near the proposed mine site near Chemin Scotch. The TAQ is Québec’s appeal tribunal for decisions made by other tribunals and commissions.
According to a press release issued by the municipality, the TAQ ruled that the CPTAQ made no errors in its analysis of the agricultural, territorial, and regional impacts of the project.
“We are pleased with this outcome; it is the end of a long battle for the municipality and its citizens. This victory demonstrates that even when facing a large corporation, we must not give up in defending our convictions. The entire community of Grenville-sur-la-Rouge will benefit,” Grenville-sur-la-Rouge Mayor Tom Arnold said in the press release.
The Municipality sees the TAQ decision as a conclusion and recognizes the relevance of its interventions and the need to protect agricultural land from incompatible projects. The municipality also believes the decision now allows elected officials and citizens to move on and focus on projects that will shape the future of the community.
“When a community, even a small one, stays strong and works together, we can really change things!” said Natalia Czarnecka, a municipal councillor and longtime opponent of the mine project.
