NOTE: On Sept. 24, this description was updated to include a statement from Glencore Canada below. In this episode of The Week Is Rover, Chris is on the ground in Rouyn-Noranda talking to residents about the Fonderie Horne, the last copper smelter in Canada. The smelter emits 87 per cent of all the arsenic released into the atmosphere in Quebec and has been granted an exemption by the province allowing it not to conform to existing standards on arsenic emissions. It sits at the centre of a bitter debate: while the smelter provides well-paid unionized jobs, residents of Rouyn-Noranda are worried it’s contributing to cancer rates and other health problems. With a provincial election looming, will the next government take these concerns seriously? In this episode, you’ll hear from: Simon Turcotte, a musician who’s vocal in the public resistance movement against the smelter Isabelle Fortin Rondeau, member of Mères au front, a group of environmental activist mothers Gilles Chapadeau, the mayor of Rouyn-Noranda Journalist: Christopher Curtis Videojournalist: Justin Khan Producer: Lyn Lee Lyn Lee’s work consisted of helping us connect with community members on the ground in Rouyn-Noranda. All editorial decisions were made by Christopher Curtis and Justin Khan. Sources: https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1920583/inspq-etude-impacts-fermeture-fonderie-rouyn https://mediat.ca/nouvelles/2026/02/fonderie-horne-rouyn-noranda-donne-sa-confiance-a-glencore https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/environnement/2026-07-03/rouyn-noranda/la-fonderie-horne-emet-87-des-rejets-d-arsenic-au-quebec.php https://ici.radio-canada.ca/nouvelle/1891907/qualite-air-sante-arsenic-biosurveillance The Week Is Rover airs weekly on Sundays. You can find the audio version on Spotify, Deezer, Apple Podcasts and Amazon. Support the show by joining our Patreon, where you’ll get behind-the-scenes access and exclusive content! https://www.patreon.com/TheRoverMedia -- Find in-depth investigative journalism, political commentary, podcasts and more at https://therover.ca/ Don’t miss out! Subscribe to the newsletter at https://therover.ca/newsletter/ Follow us on: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/therover.community/ TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@rover.media Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/therovermedia.bsky.social The Week Is Rover Podcast Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/3AdhtZ2zRtnEo0Time4PHV?si=a7ab016691f449a5 Apple Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-week-is-rover/id1896803096 Deezer https://link.deezer.com/s/33pfpzzQVUUNydq8XB0Jv Amazon https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/b9f3b38f-74bc-4f29-913d-df11b11d45f8/the-week-is-rover STATEMENT FROM GLENCORE CANADA The 15 ng/m³ target the government set for September 2029 is our goal, and we are doing what it takes to get there. We committed to investing US$300 million, roughly C$400 million, to keep improving our environmental performance, and that is exactly what we started over the past few months. That said, let us set the record straight: we respect the current ambient air standards of our ministerial authorization, and we are proud of our compliance record. We have always been clear, however, that we were never able to meet and continue operating under a 3 ng/m³ target. It is also worth remembering that, since 2022, we have cut the concentration of arsenic in the ambient air measured at the legal Horne station, at our property line, by more than 40%. We understand that there will always be some critical voices, and we believe that trust is earned and sustained through the demonstration of positive results. What matters to us is staying true to our objectives, and in particular meeting the next standards set out in our ministerial authorization. In recent years, the regional public health authority has published selective health data which might have been understood by some members of the population as suggesting a causal link between these health conditions and emissions from the Horne Smelter. However, the regional public health authority was well aware, and indeed acknowledged, that no cause-and-effect relationship can be drawn from these data. It is interesting to note that the most recent data on lung cancer incidence show that the incidence of lung cancer in Rouyn-Noranda is significantly lower than the average for Abitibi-Témiscamingue, and not significantly higher than in the rest of Quebec (https://www.cisss-at.gouv.qc.ca/partage/ETAT-SANTE_PHYSIQUE/CANCER/tumeurs_poumon_2019-2023.pdf). Rouyn-Noranda is also the area of Abitibi-Témiscamingue, along with the Abitibi-Ouest RCM, where life expectancy at birth is currently the highest (https://www.cisss-at.gouv.qc.ca/partage/ETAT-SANTE_GLOBAL/2024-02_esp_vie_naiss_2024). The health of our teams and of the community comes first. We would not keep the smelter running if we believed we were putting people's health at risk. The presence of metals in the environment does not tell us what people are actually absorbing, nor the risk to their health. Biomonitoring is the most reliable tool for assessing actual exposure. But the most recent studies conducted by the Regional public health in 2018 and 2019 do not allow for valid conclusions, as, according to the experts we consulted, they present numerous fundamental shortcomings. Among several methodological shortcomings identified by the experts, the regional public health chose a biomarker with a high risk of external contamination, even excluding toenails in favor of fingernails, which are even more at risk. Despite this significant risk, no laboratory cleaning protocol was documented as part of the 2018–2019 studies. The best available biomonitoring data are reassuring. This was true 20 years ago when emissions were much higher, and it is still true today with the results from the Intrinsik Program. To that point, and recognizing that, after years of demands from both the population and the Horne Smelter for a new, proper biomonitoring study, local public authorities have refused to undertake such a study, we retained a team of experts in the field, the scientific firm Intrinsik, to carry out a biomonitoring program in complete independence and to the highest scientific standards. Intrinsik’s methodology and conclusions underwent a peer review process by a committee of qualified and independent scientists. This committee was established by Risk Sciences International, a reputable organization based in Ottawa that also serves as an independent expert for Health Canada. And their conclusion is clear: Intrinsik program’s methodology was sound and rigorous. The results of the program conducted by Intrinsik are reassuring and essentially align with those of the last comprehensive study carried out by the local public health authority, which showed that in 2005-2006, participants were not overexposed to arsenic, even though the concentrations of arsenic in the ambient air at the time of sampling were nearly 10 times higher than they are today. (...) The Horne Smelter has been and is still committed to the continuous improvement of air quality. This includes capturing emissions at source, improving material storage and containment, monitoring ambient air, and updating equipment. Past and ongoing projects and the efforts of our teams in the daily management of our operations have made a significant contribution to the improved environmental performance. The long-term trend leaves no doubt: since 2005, the average annual arsenic concentration measured at the legal monitoring station has dropped by more than 70%. We are determined to build on this momentum through our latest investments. Despite significant industry headwinds and other challenges, no closure of the Horne Smelter is being considered. The smelter has been running in Rouyn-Noranda for 100 years, and our local teams are working hard to keep this critical industry operating for many years to come.
