Background

The Liaison Committee, which currently has fifteen members, is made up of community representatives. A dozen members from the economic, administrative, educational, environmental and health sectors represent the social and community sectors. The rest of the committee is made up of neighbours of the plant. The neighbours are industrial, institutional, agricultural and residential.

The recruitment of the various members was the result of a democratic process in which the main stakeholders in the areas concerned were invited to elect the representatives they wished to have on the committee.

On the initiative of the CEZinc refinery, nearly sixty representatives from various sectors of the Valleyfield community gathered at the Plaza Hotel. After being grouped in workshops according to the sectors they came from, the professionals from the various sectors were invited to elect their representatives to the Liaison Committee.

The second stage in the formation of the committee took place a few weeks later, this time with the aim of attracting the interest of businesses and citizens located in the vicinity of CEZinc. Letters were sent to CEZinc's residential, industrial, agricultural and institutional neighbours inviting them to apply for membership of the Liaison Committee. Where the number of applications received exceeded the number of seats available, elections were held. All this took place in a climate of trust and openness.

Today, thanks to the Liaison Committee, it is possible to have an open dialogue with the Valleyfield community about the activities of the CEZinc refinery.