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Land is expropriated for Orford: Park grows in size |
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The provincial government made a giant step towards honouring its commitment to double the size of Mount Orford provincial park Monday, announcing it had expropriated some 3,600 hectares of land from Greif Bros. Canada Inc.
The announcement was made in Orford park by Sustainable Development Minister Line Beauchamp, who announced the acquisition from the U.S. based company that was logging the land just outside the park.
“These lands of great ecological value have been acquired from the Greif Bros. Canada Inc. and will no longer be the object of industrial activity such as logging,” Beauchamp said, noting the Grief property accounts for two-thirds of the land the government promised to purchase in 2006.
“There are about 1,260 hectares of land needed to complete the expansion of the park,” she said, noting negotiation must be finalized with four other property owners including les Placements Bombardier, the Station Mont des Trois Lacs-Orford inc., Jacques Darche, and the numbered company 9116-9615 Québec inc.
A press release notes that until yesterday, Mount Orford provincial park covered 5,491 hectares. If everything goes according to plan, Beauchamp said Quebec will protect an area that is twice as large, that is 10,572 hectares, or close to 108 square kilometers.
The provisional indemnity for the annexed land was set at $8.35 million. The final price will be either negotiated or set by the Tribunal administratif du Québec if the two parties cannot reach a deal.
The Greif land and 14 other properties were put in reserve in the spring of 2006. The freeze on the land — the first step in an expropriation process — meant there could be no sales, construction, or renovations to those properties.
As such, Greif was harshly criticized for heavy logging on the land and received a notice of infraction for contravening Quebec’s environmental protection laws in July 2006. The company was forced to cease some operations.
By staff
June 10, 2008 |
Montreal Canadiens
