Photo: Guillaume Levasseur Le Devoir Sixteen million dollars will be allocated to two programs to help citizens who must relocate due to arsenic emissions from the Horne smelter, which are associated with an estimated increased risk of cancer.
Stéphane Blais – The Canadian Press
Published at 11:06 a.m.
- Quebec
The government of Quebec unveiled on Wednesday the details of two aid programs to support tenants and owners covered by the buffer zone in Rouyn-Noranda.
< p>The government action plan to support Rouyn-Noranda, announced a year ago, has a budget of 90.4 million over five years.
Of this amount, $16 million will be dedicated to two programs to assist citizens who must relocate due to arsenic emissions from the Horne smelter, which are associated with an estimated increased risk of cancer.
Help for tenants
The tenant assistance program is structured around three components: compensation departure, assistance with relocation and assistance with paying the new rent.
The amount of departure compensation corresponds to one month's rent for each year of uninterrupted rental.
Relocation assistance aims to cover moving expenses. Each household will receive $2,500. Another amount will be offered depending on the size of the accommodation. Moving costs, Internet service connections, telephone connections among others, will also be paid by the government.
Rent payment assistance will also be paid to support the tenant in paying their new rent if it is higher than that of their old accommodation. The assistance will be for a maximum duration of 60 months and the amount may reach $80,000.
In order to encourage the relocation of beneficiaries to Abitibi-Témiscamingue, the tenants who will remain in the region will receive 100% of the amount, while those who settle outside the region will be entitled to 70% of the amount.
Aid for owners
Aid for owners includes four components: compensation for relocation, flat-rate assistance for incidental costs, compensation for loss of income and compensation for the loss of the guaranteed income supplement.
Compensation for the relocation of owners could reach $700,000.
The Government Action Plan to support Rouyn-Noranda provides nearly 45 million for the City of Rouyn- Noranda, in order to help relocate citizens from the buffer zone and also to develop new neighborhoods.
For its part, the company Glencore, owner of the foundry , will acquire, at its own expense and by mutual agreement, buildings and land in the area.