Gaspé homeowners say McInnis Cement wronged them
Port-Daniel–Gascons residents seek compensation after cement company backtrack on plans to acquire property
Several homeowners in Port-Daniel–Gascons in the Gaspé want compensation from a cement company expected to open a $1.1-billion cement project in the town.
In 2013, nine homeowners in the town of 2,370 were approached by McInnis Cement and told they'd have to sell off their properties to make way for the plant's quarry.
- $1.1B Gaspe cement project in jeopardy over legal challenge
- Port Daniel cement works to get government funding
- Cement industry 'furious' at Quebec's funding of Bombardier project
Over the past two years, the homeowners and the company had been negotiating but were unable to come to an agreement to buy out the properties.
Now, the company says it no longer wants to buy the homes because it has figured out a way to build its quarry without having to purchase people's land.
Resident says company backtracked on plans
Sheila Grant-McInnis, one the landowners in Port-Daniel-Gascons that had been dealing with company, said she was told she'd have to find a new home elsewhere by June of 2015 in order to be ready to leave her property in 2016.
"We have a snowplowing company and we have a lot of machinery," said Grant-McInnis.
"We sold all of our equipment, all of our snowplowing company equipment. We sold all of that because we had decided to go to Montreal."
Grant-McInnis found out in December 2015 that the company was no longer interested in buying her land.
"I mean we didn't have any news at all," she said.
"You know, every time we called them, they kept [saying], 'Oh yes, keep on searching, keep on searching.' Well good grief, I mean, what's a person supposed to do?"
Residents' demands unreasonable: company
Maryse Tremblay, a spokesperson for McInnis Cement, said the company was unable to reach an agreement with the homeowners so it had to look for other options to build its quarry.
She maintained the company never had any deal with any of the homeowners
"The residents' demands had been really unreasonable, in excess of the property value by several hundred thousand dollars, like four, five, six, ten times the value of the homes. So as a result, we decided to make some changes to the quarry development plan in order to enable residents to remain in their homes," Tremblay said.
"We let them know once we knew for sure. We had no deal."
Sheila Grant-McInnis wrote a letter to the president of McInnis Cement asking for compensation for her business and emotional distress.
"They haven't replied to my letter, they haven't replied to my phone call," she said.
McInnis Cement says it is open to discussion with the homeowners in Port-Daniel-Gascons to find an acceptable solution for everyone involved.
with files from Rachelle Solomon