The BAPE Commission of Inquiry begins its public consultations

Québec City, January 11, 2005 – Starting Monday, January 17, 2005, the Commission of the Bureau d’audiences publiques sur l’environnement (BAPE), chaired by Joseph Zayed, will launch public consultations aimed at promoting public participation in the BAPE inquiry mandated by the Minister of the Environment, Thomas J. Mulcair, into the potential effects on surface and ground water and the uses thereof of operating a niobium mine and plant in Oka.

Interested parties can ask the Commission questions to complete the information available, voice their concerns about specific subjects, point out elements of interest, or present suggestions and make comments likely to enlighten the Commission on the subjects it has been commissioned to analyze. The public consultation will begin on January 17, 2005, at 7 p.m., at City Hall, Municipality of Oka, 183, rue des Anges. The sessions will continue the following days according to the needs of the public and of the Commission.

Documentation available

You can refer to the documents related to this mandate at the BAPE office in Québec City, at the Bibliothèque centrale of the Université du Québec à Montréal, and at Oka Municipal Library, 183, rue des Anges, Oka. The consultation centre for the Band Council of the Mohawks of Kanesatake has been changed as follows : Band Council of the Mohawks of Kanesatake, 127, rue Notre-Dame, Oka.

You can also visit the BAPE Web site at www.bape.gouv.qc.ca.

For more information, interested parties are asked to contact Suzanne Bouchard, Commision Secretariat Coordinator, at (418) 643-7447, extension 421, or toll-free at 1-800-463-4732, extension 421. You can also reach the Commission by e-mail at oka-eaux@bape.gouv.qc.ca .

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Source: Louise Bourdages
Communications Adviser
(418) 643-7447, extension 532, or 1-800-463-4732, extension 532
louise.bourdages@bape.gouv.qc.ca