No to millions of taxpayers' money to giant Glencore

Like this, Prime Minister François Legault plans to invest in the modernization of the facilities of the Horne Foundry so that it significantly reduces its emissions of arsenic and other contaminants into the air in Rouyn-Noranda.

No to millions of taxpayers' money to giant Glencore

Like this, Prime Minister François Legault plans to invest in the modernization of the facilities of the Horne Foundry so that it significantly reduces its emissions of arsenic and other contaminants into the air in Rouyn-Noranda.

A modernization whose cost of work would amount to around 500 million dollars. Half a billion dollars.

The CAQ chief says he is ready to grant financial support to the Horne Foundry, as long as, he suggests, the company pays most of the bill for the costs of modifying its processes. Mr. Legault talked about injecting the tax benefits of the copper smelter in the Rouyn-Noranda region and throughout Quebec.

"There are 650 well-paying jobs at the Horne Foundry," he said. Therefore, these jobs bring income in taxes to the Government of Quebec. Are we ready to give back aid for the equivalent of a part of these real benefits? Of course, but most of the amount will have to be paid by the company. »

But... is it really necessary for the Legault government to invest our tax money in the copper smelter of the Anglo-Swiss multinational Glencore?

He would do it for what reason? To convince the monks of Glencore not to close the highly polluting and dangerous smelter and thus save the 650 “well-paid” jobs that the smelter offers in this region?

THE REAL QUESTION

No, but seriously, will Glencore close the Horne Foundry if the Quebec government does not pay it tens of millions of dollars to help finance its modernization work?

I do not believe that. And here's why.

One, we are in the presence here of a multinational whose turnover will reach 278 billion US dollars this year. A multinational which, according to analysts, could declare in 2022 a net profit of 18 billion $ US. Glencore is currently worth some US$68 billion on the stock market.

We agree that Glencore has the financial means to pay for the modernization of its foundry. It is his responsibility.

Two, the Horne smelter in Rouyn-Noranda is a huge asset for Glencore. In operation since 1927, you should know that it “proudly wears its title as the only copper smelter in Canada,” says management.

You read that right: “The only copper smelter in Canada”.

Three, Glencore carried out a major reorganization in 2021 by creating a new unit, "North American copper operations", which includes the Horne Smelter, the CCR refinery in Montreal East and the recycling sites in the United States. -United.

Four, copper is a metal of the future, says the management of the Horne Foundry in its 2021 Annual Sustainable Development Bulletin.

It is a “critical” mineral that will be called upon to play a leading role in the global energy transition, and “we will then be ready to meet this growing demand”.

“However, it is important to do so responsibly and in a sustainable development approach,” says management.

HEALTH AND SECURITY

"We attach great importance," she adds, "to integrating the notions of sustainable development into our ways of doing things and that is why we are deeply committed to the health and safety of our people, the environment and our community. »

So... with these fine words, let Glencore walk the talk! And that it assume the bill for the modernization of the Horne Foundry itself in order to reduce the discharge of dangerously polluting particles in Rouyn-Noranda.

Between paying the Horne Foundry clean-up bill or risking ending up with a collective action by the victims of the arsenic releases in Rouyn-Noranda, Glencore has an advantage in opting for the modernization of its foundry.

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