Building dialogue for a shaping project
Letter to the editor, This Thursday evening, at the Vankleek Hill Arena, a public meeting will be held to consider a proposed amendment to the Official Plan of the United Counties of Prescott and Russell, to agree for a land use designation change which would allow for the implementation of the Colacem Canada Cement Plant Project, located on the north side of County Road 17, approximately 4.5 kilometers west of the Village of L’Orignal, in the Township of Champlain.
We are aware that some community members are taking a stand against the project by raising, among other things, concerns about its potential environmental impacts. We are the first to recognize the need for good communication, and we intend to proactively communicate to the community and the stakeholders the opportunities and issues of our project, and create a space for building dialogue that favours listening, exchanging and learning together. Colacem believes in the importance of respecting the regulations and procedures put in place by the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) and local authorities.
We understand and respect the concerns expressed by community members, as their views may be informed by past experiences with the industry. However, the cement industry has significantly reduced its environmental impact in recent years and continues to do so to this day.
As an example of continuous improvement, the proposed cement plant will consume 40 per cent less fuel than its competitors using obsolete technologies, making the plant highly efficient. At the heart of these improvements are the adoption and implementation of strict regulatory frameworks in industrialized countries and the integration of technologies respectful of the environment that improve the energy efficiency of cement operations while minimizing impacts.
For these reasons, it is important to know that the proposed cement plant in L’Orignal is designed to meet and exceed these high environmental standards. After its construction, the cement plant will have one of the lowest environmental impact of all operating cement plants in North America.
In the development of our state of the art plant, we want to make a clear and unequivocal commitment to the public and local authorities: not only will we host regular meetings on theme-based topics that matter to the community but we will also establish a Community Liaison Committee with a mandate to work with the community and promote dialogue.
Over the coming months, we would like to host round-table meetings on themes corresponding to the concerns expressed by the community members. These roundtable meetings will provide Colacem and community members the opportunity to interact, identify the issues and to discuss them.
Following the series of activities mentioned above, we are calling upon community members to get involved to put in place a Liaison Committee that will collaborate with Colacem Canada during the initial phases of construction, during operations and into the future. This is part of Colacem’s commitment to ensure that it is engaging with stakeholders throughout the process. The committee would be made up of community members and various stakeholders, representative of the interests of L’Orignal.
Finally, we would like to highlight that even though we see significant opportunities and benefits with this project, including an initial investment of $225 million dollars, annual local purchasing estimated between $5 and $6 million per year, and job creation (200 during construction and 300 longterm), we also are mindful of the concerns raised throughout the project approval process. Colacem Canada aims to contribute to making the places where it operates more livable, by creating economic, cultural and social values. This objective is also true for our project in L’Orignal
In conclusion, we want to reaffirm our commitment to working in an open, transparent, and collaborative way with the community.
Marc Bataille Plant director