A class action request against Sanimax has just been filed in the Superior Court of Quebec to force the multinational, which deals with animal carcasses, to put in place measures to reduce odors from its facilities and compensate residents who undergo them.
© Guillaume Levasseur Archives Le Devoir
Claims could approach $ 100 million and pAccording to the applicants’ estimates, nearly 135,000 people would potentially be eligible for the class action if it were accepted.
In the petition, two Montreal residents argue that Sanimax should compensate people who live near its facilities in Rivière-des-Prairies, Lévis and Saint-Hyacinthe because of the “foul odors” emanating from them.
Founded in 1939, Sanimax performs rendering operations for animal carcasses and the treatment of used oils. From these operations, the Quebec company recovers the oily co-products, purifies them and transforms them into animal feed, soap and industrial chemicals.
Modernize the facilities
If the collective action is accepted, the courts will be asked to force the company to modernize its facilities in order to reduce “foul odors” as much as possible.
What is more, the applicants maintain that Sanimax violates the Regulation respecting biomedical waste, in particular, by sending “animal anatomical waste” in containers which are neither waterproof nor refrigerated.
The trucks moving the carcasses should, according to them, be designated as vehicles transporting “biomedical waste”, which would force the company to use transport vehicles not only sealed, but refrigerated at a temperature below 4 ° C.
If the claim is accepted, the claimants intend to ask Sanimax to pay each class action member $ 500 per month during which he allegedly suffered the foul odors and $ 1,300 for moral and punitive damages. Claims could approach $ 100 million, can we read in the document.
Gallery: What People with Disabilities Would Like You To Know (Espresso)
Nearly 135,000 people, including 105,000 from Montreal, would potentially be eligible for the class action if it were accepted, according to the applicants’ estimates. Residents and businesses located within 3.3 kilometers of the facilities since January 2019 could participate.
In an email sent to Duty, the vice-president of manufacturing operations at Sanimax, Vincent Brossard, writes that the teams “are already hard at work to study” the request: “We have the firm intention to defend ourselves. Moreover, several elements mentioned by the plaintiff appear to us to be inaccurate. “
In addition, he maintains that the company is aware of the challenges posed by the recovery of “organic matter which degrades rapidly”.
He writes: “We are doing everything we can to make Sanimax a better neighbor. We are not always perfect, but we work every day to improve ourselves and to always seek solutions. The company has invested “millions of dollars” over the past two years to modernize its facilities, he assures.
Odors that disturb
This showdown between residents and Sanimax is nothing new. For years, many complaints related to odors generated by the activities of the company have been made.
The City of Lévis does not want to comment on the legal proceedings. By email, Gilles Lehouillier’s press secretary, the mayor, writes that the municipality continues “to be proactive and to support the residents affected. In recent months, steps have also been taken with the ministries concerned ”.
The mayor of Saint-Hyacinthe, André Beauregard, concedes that the cohabitation between the Sanimax plant and the population remains difficult. Meetings between the municipality and the company have been frequent in recent years.
An odor reduction plan should be presented this spring. There is talk of building infrastructure where employees will store animal carcasses when they arrive, rather than leaving them outside.
“In fact, no one wants these facilities, but they are necessary for the agrifood industry in Quebec. And this sector is important here, ”indicates André Beauregard, saying he prefers to look for possible solutions to limit the inconvenience.
Two class actions have been filed against Sanimax in the United States in recent years, one in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the other in the municipality of Saint Paul, Minnesota. In both cases, deals were made, and the company paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars in compensation for each.