Quebec judge rules Pointe-Claire PCB-contaminated land owner must submit clean-up timetable

A Quebec tribunal judge recently handed a defeat to the owners of the old Reliance Power Equipment Corps. site in Pointe-Claire.

READ MORE: Pointe-Claire residents want more assurances concerning PCBs

It’s the latest in what has become an ongoing saga concerning toxic PCB chemicals on the land.

The judge ruled the current owner of the site on 86 Hymus Blvd., a private company called Juste Investir, must submit a clean-up timetable to the provincial environment ministry by Feb 6.

Juste Investir sought to dismiss the ministry’s order, saying the cost of cleaning up the industrial site could reach as much as $7.8 million, an argument the judge ultimately discarded.

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PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were first discovered at the site in 2013.

READ MORE: No timeline on PCB cleanup in Pointe-Claire

Since then, the original owner sold the land to Juste Investir for back taxes in 2015, and the site has remained in a sort of limbo.

Pointe-Claire mayor Morris Trudeau said in a press release the site does not pose a risk for residents.

READ MORE: PCB site clean-up delay leaves Pointe-Claire residents, environmentalists frustrated

“What Trudeau is saying is based on opinions, not scientific facts,” insisted Alex Tyrell, a member of the Quebec Green Party.

“A lot of residents, and Montrealers in general, are surprised this was allowed to stay in the soil for four years now.”

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Residents living near the contaminated land told Global News they’re still concerned.

READ MORE: Environment ministry calls for PCB decontamination plan from Pointe-Claire companies

“I’m fed up and I just want it to be resolved,” said Annie Lambert, who has lived in Pointe-Claire all her life.

She said she’s looking to move her family away from the site now that she has two children.

READ MORE: PCB problem in Pointe-Claire more extensive than originally thought

“It’s one of those matters that people keep bouncing off the wall: ‘no, it’s your responsibility, no it’s your responsibility,'” Lambert said.

When Global News called Juste Investir, the person who answered the phone hung up.