Call for action
Call for action: Say NO to a cement plant in L’Orignal!
Let´s take charge and say NO to the cement plant project in the heart of L’Orignal, a historic village with human values and agricultural practices in symbiosis with the Ottawa River. This cement plant project may become a threat to your « home sweet home » and your family!
Why?
A cement plant is a heavy industry, known to be amongst the most polluting industries in the world. The predictable negative effects of such a highly polluting heavy industry could ruin your daily lives, but also your nights, your health and that of your children… not to mention affecting your agricultural land output and the value of your residential and business properties! As a community, it is our duty to be informed and unite to prevent a cement plant from establishing itself in L’Orignal. We need to act together to demonstrate our firm dissent towards this project. Many have read the documents submitted for this project. The proposed cement plant is of no reassurance to the Champlain population. It is a socially unacceptable project that has put so much stress on the population and obviously much more on the residents of the outlining area around the site as they will be most affected by this in terms of both pollution and nuisance and loss of quality of life. Action Champlain is there to inform and guide all citizens on their rights.
Action Champlain letter sent to Colacem Canada in Januray 2017: Please respect population’s wishes
An open letter to Mr. Marc Bataille, Colacem Canada:
After months of debate and detailed analysis with respect to the proposed cement plant, democracy has spoken. Last week, Champlain Township Council voted against the zoning change required to establish a cement plant in L’Orignal. As it is clear to us that a majority of the population in Champlain is of the same opinion, the Mayor and a majority of councillors supported the conclusions of the citizens they represent as duly-elected officials. We salute their leadership and service to the community. The following day, the mayors of Hawkesbury and East Hawkesbury joined Champlain Mayor Barton to vote against Official Plan Amendment no. 30, also required to establish the plant, at the United Counties of Prescott-Russell council (UCPR) meeting. Officials from a large, contiguous eastern part of the UCPR have now opposed the project.
We therefore invoke Colacem’s sense of corporate social responsibility and respectfully request that the company withdraw the project application and respect the wishes of the population, as expressed by its elected officials.We understand that Colacem may still want to pursue the idea of establishing its cement plant in the UCPR, notably as a result of the UCPR’s decision last week with respect to Amendment No 30 to the Official Plan. This decision is the result of the votes of the Mayors from Clarence-Rockland, The Nation, Casselman and Russell, all in the western part of the UCPR. These mayors are also elected to represent the citizens of their communities and as such, we suggest that Colacem could seek to build its cement plant in one these communities that supports the project. As your company also operates a quarry much further west of L’Orignal, this could perhaps be a viable option for you.
With our best regards,
Charles Despins, Gérald Pilon and Michael Santella. For Action Champlain, L’Orignal Ontario