On August 5, Samuel Touchette, an environmental activist charged with criminal mischief and obstruction for an act of civil disobedience targeting Stablex in Blainville, made his first court appearance. On May 1, 2025, the activist chained himself to the entrance of the controversial hazardous waste landfill site, disrupting operations for more than eight hours. He pleaded not guilty.
“We set up a wooden device so that I could climb over the fence and chain myself to the gatehouse,” Touchette said in an interview with The North Star a few days before his trial. “It took about 15 Blainville police officers, a special team from the Sûreté du Québec, and a fire truck to get me out of there.”
The May 1 action echoes the anger of many citizens of Blainville and the surrounding area. For more than 40 years, the American company has been burying hazardous toxic waste near the small town in the Laurentians. However, it was the expansion of Cell 6, in a protected peat bog and close to residential neighborhoods, that led to widespread anger and large demonstrations.
On March 28, in the face of opposition, the CAQ government passed Bill 93 under gag order in the middle of the night. This bill expropriates the land claimed by Stablex from the City of Blainville to allow the billion-dollar multinational corporation to bury its waste near homes. Samples taken from nearby waterways found 320 times the safe level of cadmium, a carcinogenic element, 5 to 7 times the level of arsenic, and 13 times the level of lead.
“I knew my action was illegal,” explains Samuel Touchette, “but I did it anyway, because it was more important to break that law than to let the operations continue.” It is this argument, the “defense of necessity,” that he will use in court to make his point.
“That’s what I promised in my crowdfunding campaign, [...] to say that I had no choice but to take this action, so I’m going to stick to it.” According to the Supreme Court’s Perka ruling, this defense is valid when the harm inflicted is less than the harm avoided.
According to the activist, it is clear that Stablex causes more harm than an eight-hour blockade. “It's putting profits above people's lives, their health, the environment, and the well-being of communities. It's a classic capitalist ploy to use job creation as a pretext.”
He continues: “François Legault doesn't even need to be bribed. It's his ideology to value the economy and put profits above people's lives. He will do anything to please his wealthy friends.”
For Touchette, who is from Rouyn-Noranda, the situation at Stablex is closely linked to that surrounding Glencore's highly controversial Horne smelter, which is also poisoning residential neighborhoods, with arsenic levels in the air currently 13 times higher than the standard. The provincial government requires that levels not exceed 15 times the standard. The lung cancer rate in Rouyn-Noranda is “significantly higher” than the provincial average.
The environmental activist's action is just one of several that have emerged in the wake of Stablex's imposed expansion. Pickets in front of the company are part of everyday life in Blainville, in addition to demonstrations in front of the St-Jérôme courthouse in defense of Touchette. About 20 people accompanied him into the courtroom on August 5.
The May 1 blockade was the second direct action taken against the company, after a healthcare worker chained herself to the entrance during a protest in April.