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Quebec Environment Minister Claude Bechard permanently closed a controversial Cantley landfill yesterday. Later, a spokesman for the landfill denied that one of the owners had threatened a provincial inspector that he might sell the site to the Hells Angels.
The environment ministry said it closed the landfill on Highway 307 over a lack of proper test wells to measure the gas produced at the site.
The closing is the final move in a long-running history that has seen the ministry investigate the landfill at least 17 times for alleged infractions since it opened in 1989.
But while news of the closing was still fresh, a spokesman for the landfill had a second issue to deal with: a ministry report saying one of the owners told a ministry official he might sell the site to members of the Hells Angels biker gang.
The report, by environment ministry landfill inspector Claude Girard, says Gilles Proulx, part owner of the landfill, told him in a meeting in May 2005 that he had met with four Hells Angels members in a Hull hotel.
“He added that next week a couple of people would get kicked in the balls,” Mr. Girard’s report said.
According to the report, Mr. Proulx also said he had important “contacts.”
“He said: I am about to enter the political system and I have contacts. Watch out next week—something big will happen.”
The report is included in the ministry’s defence against a class action lawsuit filed by two people who live near the landfill against the Quebec government, the Municipality of Cantley and the landfill owners. The legal action is one of several suits and counter suits between residents and the landfill’s owners.
Andre Guibord, a spokesman for Mr. Proulx and his partner, Denzil Thom, said Mr. Proulx was not threatening the ministry of environment inspector. He said the inspector misinterpreted the conversation and started “fantasizing” about what Mr. Proulx had told him.
“Mr. Proulx said, ‘You know what, I met a guy yesterday who said he was from the Hells Angels and he offered to buy the site’,” Mr. Guibord said. “He looked like he could have been a Hells Angel, but Mr. Proulx discarded the offer and told him that if he had millions of dollars in the bank everything was for sale.
“The inspector distorted what he was told and interpreted some things as a threat.”
Mr. Guibord said Mr. Proulx may have been referring to a lawsuit he planned to file against landfill opponents the following week when he said something big was going to happen. He said the minister’s office is embarrassed because, under Quebec’s privacy law, the inspector’s report should not have included names.
Meanwhile, Mr. Guibord said Gilles Proulx and Denzil Thom will appeal the decision to close the landfill in Quebec Superior Court. He said the owners disagree with a ministry finding that the site must close because five gas-testing wells were built improperly.
The ministry ordered the owners to put out a fire at the landfill during the winter of 2005 and issued a “voluntary evacuation notice” to 69 families from March 14 to 18, 2005, after some people complained about breathing difficulties and other health problems.
The province forced the landfill to close temporarily in March 2006 so the owners could cover the site and install equipment to collect and filter the gas.
Gatineau MNA Rejean Lafreniere said he was pleased that the landfill is finally closed and that the province will require the owners to clean it up.
“It is unbelievable what has been going on at the site for the last 18 months. The government was giving the owner operating permits based on things that he never did. This is good news for the people of Cantley.”
Mr. Lafreniere said the landfill owners are responsible for closing the site, handling the water runoff and maintaining the system that captures and filters landfill gases.
He added the province could be stuck with the cleanup bill if the owner is unable to do the work because it is responsible for the health and comfort of residents who live near the landfill.
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006