Local residents rally to protest new cement plant

August 17th, 2021 a crowd gathered from 7-8 PM in front of the L'Orignal quarry owned by cement company Colacem, to protest the new cement plant that will be built.

The event was organized by Action Champlain, a local non-profit group that was founded in 2011 as a response to the announcement of the new Cement plant.

This past spring, Action Champlain’s appeal to a 2017 decision made by the United Counties of Prescott-Russell Council (UCPR), which would allow Colacem to build the cement plant on Country Rd 17, was denied by the Ontario Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT). In addition, LPAT approved an appeal made by Colacem regarding a decision to reject a zoning by-law amendment that was required for the construction of the new plant, with the decision being made by Champlain county council in 2017.

NDP candidate for Glengarry-Prescott-Russell, Konstantine Malakos, was there to say a few words in the form of an impassioned speech, with much applause from the crowd. 

Konstantine says that the risks of the plant outweigh the rewards (200 construction jobs, and 300 full time employees at the plant), and that there is no middle ground for the two groups. 

With their legal resources exhausted, Action Champlain have now decided to ta

Many local residents rallied to express their concerns. 

These included harmful pollution to the local ecosystem, an increase of activity in their quiet rural area, with some saying that they would move if the project went ahead. 

Only time will tell if this was enough for the people of L’Orignal to save their community.