PUBLIC NOTICE Public Consultation on Forestry Activities
From August 3 to 28, 2020, the Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (MFFP) invites the members of the general public to express their opinions on the harvesting and forestry activities set out in the 2018-2023 integrated operational forest management plans (PAFIO) for the Norddu-Québec region. Various forestry operations will be carried out in the coming years. The integrated forest management plans clearly show the sectors where harvesting, land preparation, reforestation, clearing and other operations might be carried out. Also, roads and infrastructures will have to be built or upgraded to access the work sites. Professionals from the MFFP would like to hear the concerns of forest users on the proposed forest activities. During the consultation period, you can access the operational plans and submit your comments online via the website of the MFFP (https://mffp.gouv.qc.ca/consultation-plansdamenagement-forestier-integre/). You can also go to the regional office of the MFFP (by appointment only) Monday to Friday (except holidays) from 8 : 30 a.m. to 12 p.m. and from 1 p.m. to 4 : 30 p.m.; our staff will be able to answer your questions and respond to your concerns regarding potential work sites. Unité de gestion de Chibougamau 624, 3e Rue Chibougamau (Québec) G8P 1P1 Telephone : 418 748-2647 Fax : 418 748-3359 IMPORTANT : If you would like to receive information on future public consultations held by the MFFP in the Nord-du-Québec region, please write to christine.morin@mffp.gouv.qc.ca; make sure to write the following in the subject line : Request for inclusion on the mailing list.
THE NATION
6 the Nation July 31, 2020 www.nationnews.ca
by Patrick Quinn
Tackling the trash A
t the mouth of the Great Whale River, the Cree community of Whapmagoostui shares several services with the neighbouring Inuit village of Kuujjuarapik, including a controversial landfill site at the edge of town. A new online petition demanding that community leaders find an urgent solution to the toxic smoke coming from this dump had amassed nearly 2,000 signatures at press time. “The morning I started the petition, I was lying in bed and my whole room stunk of garbage,” recalled Vivianne Sheshamush. “It just made me so frustrated feeling like I was helpless, that the air coming into my house was filled with toxic smoke and that my children were sleeping and also smelling it. That was when I decided it was enough.” Community members have complained of the dump smoke for many years and expressed concerns that waste from the site has been blowing into nearby Hudson Bay. The site’s proximity with residential areas is an ongoing public health issue. Its proximity to the airport, the community’s only access point for most of the year,
has also been identified as a safety issue due to collisions between birds and planes. “I know families have talked of their loved ones who suffer with asthma having a harder time breathing on those days when they light the fire,” Sheshamush told the Nation. “The dump is currently 750 metres away from the nearest house, a house that has a child in there. The mother said it was so bad that sometimes she sees ash and she doesn’t let her son play outside.” The Cree Health Board issued a public health advisory in 2017 reminding residents with heart or lung disease, Elders, children and pregnant women to limit their exposure to dump fire smoke by staying indoors with doors and windows closed, and air exchangers turned off. These recommendations are proving challenging to follow in the summertime heat.\ “It’s been really hot up here and a lot of people don’t have air conditioners or fans,” said Sheshamush. “They open their windows to try to get a breeze in their house. The whole town has no choice but to breathe in all this toxic air.
