On May 9, the Ministry of the Environment issued a ministerial order to the company Distribution Top Layer, located at 1460, called Sainte-Philomène, in Kanesatake.
The company is managed by Jean-Sébastien Sears-Pépin and specializes in coating and exterior coating. It is located on the same site as Center de pêche chez Robert.
Following a complaint, the ministry carried out an inspection of this land on October 16, 2020. Its inspectors found, according to the document obtained by Espaces autochtones, the presence of residual materials (concrete, bricks, asphalt, metal rods, etc.)
while the site is not a place where storage is approved
.
This is explained by the ministry the land has been subject to fill work on the shoreline as well as on the banks and floodplains (or floodplains) of Lac des Deux Montagnes and the Ottawa River without ministerial approval having been issued for this purpose.
which is against the law.
In addition, the presence of residual materials is also against the law, says the ministry. The analysis results of these samples show that certain types of soil in the piles and in the backfill contain concentrations […] superior
according to certain criteria in the law.
In December 2020, Distribution Top Layer had already been fined. Mr. Sears-Pépin, the owner, indicates to Native Spaces that it amounted to $5,000.
The Environment Ministry also ordered him to stop all work and restore the land.
Despite several warnings, inquiries and sent letters, the Ministry of the Environment believes that the owner of Distribution Top Layer has never given an adequate answer.
If the G&R site is particularly visible, others are more discreet, but they are still in the sight of the authorities.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Delphine Jung
Mr. Sears-Pépin maintains that he broke no law when these analyzes were conducted on land. outside the jurisdiction
of Quebec. They don’t even know who owns the land
adds Mr. Sears-Pépin.
In the ministry’s document it is stated that the land is owned by the Government of Canada
.
Mr. Sears-Pépin claims to know the owner, a Mohawk whose identity he declined to disclose.
Environnement Québec is outside its jurisdiction and they failed their tests. Our results do not match theirs.
assures Mr. Sears-Pépin.
He also says that his company was hired by Liaison Terrex to spread the soil. He specifies that Liaison Terrex is a company that connects contractors and people to deposit soil for backfilling.
According to him, it is also up to Liaison Terrex to follow up.
It’s strange, Environment Quebec hasn’t done anything about them
adds Mr. Sears-Pépin, who believes that the government prefers to attack him, a small fish
than to a great entrepreneur.
Contacted by Indigenous Spaces, Liaison Terrex did not respond to our calls.
According to Mr. Sears-Pépin, it was all considered pollution because we are in a flood zone and on a coast. You can put anything: soil, leaves, it will become a pollution because it is in an area, for them, where everything becomes a pollution
he continues.
He also ensures that nothing has been spilled into the river or lake, everything remained on the owner’s land
.
Legally my hands are tied, I’m just between two things. If it is true that there are pollutants, they have not been seeing the owner, the excavator, etc.
he adds.
If the owner of the land says to me “put it there”, I put it there
he said again.
He also believes that it is the environmental service Kanesatake that should take care of this, with the support of the government.
Contacted by Indigenous Spaces, Oka’s mayor, Pascal Quevillon, thinks sogenerally what is done on Aboriginal territory, on the coast, lacks monitoring. It would require more coaching
.
Kanesatake Grand Chief Victor Bonspille did not respond to our interview request.
