Uranium Industry Issues in Québec - Public hearing sessions of the question and information phase

QUÉBEC CITY, Aug. 27, 2014 /CNW Telbec/ - The inquiry commission of the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE), chaired by Louis-Gilles Francoeur, supported by commissioners Michèle Goyer and Joseph Zayed, will begin its second phase, question and information, of the public hearing on uranium industry issues in Québec on September 3, 2014. This phase will allow the commission and the participants to deepen their knowledge of the issues concerning the uranium industry in Québec, with the help of specialists and resource persons.

On December 11, 2013, the government approved by decree the agreement with the Crees of Québec Province regarding a generic hearing about the uranium industry. From the beginning of its inquiry and hearing mandate, the BAPE commission joined to its work the James Bay Advisory Committee on the Environment (JBACE) and worked with a commission from the JBACE. Formed for this mandate, this commission is chaired by Paul John Murdoch, supported by Mélissa Brousseau Saganash, Manon Cyr and Anne-Marie Gaudet.

To begin its question and information phase, the commission will hold sessions in Mistissini on September 3, 4 and 5. Chibougamau' and Chisasibi's citizens can participate to those sessions by live video conference.

Hearing room	Neoskweskau Complex Gymnasium 206, Main Street Mistissini
Video conference room	Hôtel de Ville de Chibougamau Salle du Conseil 650, 3e rue Chibougamau
	Cree nation of Chisasibi Mitchuap building Banquet Hall Chisasibi

Members from the JBACE commission will participate to the interview of resource persons and specialists during the public sessions in Québec City. The same recognition has been granted to members of a similar commission formed by the Kativik Environmental Advisory Committee.

The commission wants to orientate its work on certain themes. Each session will start with one or many presentations and will be followed by a questions period, depending on the theme of the session.

Here are the broached themes for the sessions in Mistissini:

Semaine du 3 au 5 septembre 2014
Wednesday, September 3, 2014 (evening)	Context
Thursday, September 4, 2014 (a.m., p.m. and evening)	Exploration and exploitation Ecology Health
Thursday, September 4, 2014 (a.m., p.m. and evening)	Governance

The sessions will be broadcasted live in audio and video modes on the BAPE Website (www.bape.gouv.qc.ca). It will also be possible to send questions to the commission by a Web form, also available on the Website, from September 3, 2014, at 7 p.m. to October 3, 2014, at noon.

WHERE CAN THE DOCUMENTATION BE CONSULTED?

The documentation can be accessed by members of the general public at the following regional consultation centres:

• Bibliothèque de Mont-Laurier, 385, rue du Pont, Mont-Laurier ;
• Bibliothèque municipale de Havre-Saint-Pierre, 1045, rue Dulcinée, Havre-Saint-Pierre ;
• Bibliothèque Louis-Ange-Santerre, 500, avenue Jolliet, Sept-Îles ;
• Bibliothèque La Bouquine, 50, rue Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes, Ville-Marie ;
• Bibliothèque municipale de Chibougamau, 601, 3e rue, Chibougamau ;
• Bibliothèque de Chelsea, 100, chemin Old Chelsea, Chelsea ;
• Bibliothèque municipale et scolaire de La Petite-Rochelle, 44A, rue Lasalle, Pointe-à-la-Croix ;
• Offices of the Kativik Environmental Advisory Committee (KEAC), Kuujjuak 
• Cree Nation of Mistissini, 187 Main Street, Mistissini.

Printed versions of these documents, plus all documents filed with the commission during the process, will also be available at the BAPE offices in Québec City, at 575, Saint-Amable, Suite 2.10, and in Montreal, at the Legal Science Library, Université du Québec à Montréal, Pavillon Hubert-Aquin, 400, Sainte-Catherine Est. They will also be placed on the BAPE website (www.bape.gouv.qc.ca), under the heading "Mandats en cours".

If you would like further information, please contact Rita Leblanc, the Commission Secretariat Coordinator, at 418 643-7447 or toll-free at 1 800 463-4732, ext. 422. You may also contact the commission by e-mail at the following address: [email protected].

SOURCE: Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement

Source: 
Louise Bourdages
Communications Advisor
418 643-7447 or 1 800 463-4732, ext. 532