Pointe-Claire,

August 30, 2013

Presence of PCBs at 86 Hymus Boulevard, Pointe-Claire

Information Notice issued by the Council of the City of Pointe-Claire

On August 27, the Council of the City of Pointe-Claire was shocked to learn of the presence of PCBs at 86 Hymus Boulevard, without authorisation from the MDDEFP, on a property owned by Reliance Power Equipment Ltd. The Council decided to act immediately with its usual transparency and provide information to the citizens of Pointe-Claire. To this end, the Council is issuing a chronological summary of the events that led to the announcement made by the Minister of the Ministre de Dveloppement durable, de lEnvironnement, de la Faune et des Parcs (MDDEFP) regarding the order brought against Reliance Power Equipment Ltd. on Thursday, March 29, 2013, as follows: CHRONOLOGICAL SUMMARY OF EVENTS
1967: Construction permit issued to Reliance Power Equipment for the construction of a warehouse for electrical equipment. 1983: Reliance Power Equipment applies to Quebecs Environment Ministry for authorization to store PCBs at the warehouse. January 21, 1985: The City of Pointe-Claire passes a by-law prohibiting the storage of PCBs. April 17, 1985: The Deputy Minister of Environment issues a certificate authorizing Reliance Power Equipment to store PCBs at the warehouse. April 17, 1985: The City of Pointe-Claire opposes the issuing of the certificate. May 15, 1985: The City opposes the issuing of a construction permit for the purposes of storing PCBs. November 15, 1985: Reliance Power Equipment takes the City and the Attorney General of Quebec to court. May 19, 1999: The Superior Court sides with the City and dismisses Reliance Power Equipments action. September 3, 2002: The Court of Appeal dismisses the appeal against the judgment. August 12, 2003: The Supreme Court of Canada refuses to hear the case and dismisses the appeal. March 27, 2013: A complaint is made to Public Security concerning the spill of a substance into the sewer system. An application for emergency intervention is immediately made to MDDEFPs Urgence-Environnement. Pointe-Claires Public Works Department cooperates with the agent for the MDDEFP (Quebecs Environment Ministry), Environnement Rive-Nord, to contain and pump out the substance. April 2, 2013: The Environment Contrle des rejets industriels branch for the City of Montral sends a letter to Reliance regarding the hydrocarbon spill into the sewer system. The City of Pointe-Claire received a certified copy of this letter on May 8, 2013. June 7, 2013: Letter from Mr. Norman King, assistant to the director of the Direction de sant publique de Montral - Environnement urbain et sant, addressed to Mr. Luc St-Martin, Regional Director of the MDDEFPs Centre de contrle environnemental de Montral, de Laval, de Lanaudire et des Laurentides, noting the

presence of hazardous materials on Reliance Power Equipment Ltd.s site. The City of Pointe-Claire receives a certified copy of this letter. June 11, 2013: Telephone conversation between Pointe-Claires City Manager, Mr. Nicolas Bouchard, and Mr. Luc St-Martin, Regional Director for the MDDEFPs Centre de contrle environnemental de Montral, de Laval, de Lanaudire et des Laurentides. Pointe-Claires City Manager requests a meeting of all stakeholders in the file. Mr. St-Martin confirms that the meeting will take place and that a member of his team would contact the Citys management with further details. To this date, this meeting has never been held. June 12, 2013: Additional information sent by Mrs. Monique Beausoleil, toxicologist with the Direction de la sant publique de Montral, addressed to Mr. St-Martin, with a certified copy sent to the City of Pointe-Claire, concerning Reliance and the potential health consequences of the substances stored on the site. June 13, 2013: Notice sent by the Environment Contrle des rejets industriels branch for the City of Montral to Reliance, with a certified copy to the City of Pointe-Claire, confirming that containers possibly containing PCBs are stored on the site. July 10, 2013: Receipt of an email from the Direction de la Sant publique de Montral, addressed to Mr. Luc St- Martin, requesting that a report be submitted to the MDDEFP on the progress being made in the file. July 16, 2013: Receipt of a certified copy of a letter sent by the Environment Contrle des rejets industriels branch for the City of Montral to Reliance, confirming the presence of PCBs on the site. July 19, 2013: The MDDEFP writes to Reliance requesting a new cleanup plan, referring to three other notices. The City of Pointe-Claire is not aware of the content of these notices because it did not receive them. July 24, 2013: The MDDEFP sends the letter it had sent to Reliance on July 19 to the Direction de la sant publique, a copy of which the City receives from the Direction de la sant publique. July 24, 2013: Pointe-Claires City Manager once again requests that a meeting be held, but this time with the Environment Contrle des rejets industriels branch for the City of Montral, soliciting the presence of all stakeholders in the file. August 7, 2013: Confirmation by the MDDEFP that a meeting will be held in September, with all stakeholders in attendance, on either September 5, 6, 9, 11 or 12. August 13, 2013: Receipt of the ministers prior notification to Reliance. August 27, 2013: All of the members of the Council learn of the presence of PCBs on the Reliance site when the Journal de Montral breaks the story. August 28, 2013: Expiry of the deadline of the ministers prior notification order at midnight. August 29, 2013: Press conference held by Pointe-Claires elected officials on the Reliance site, at 12:01 a.m., demanding immediate action on the part of the MDDEFP. August 29, 2013: The Minister issues a notification demanding that Reliance comply with all of the MDDEFPs requirements within the next 24 hours.

General information The Council of the City of Pointe-Claire will remain vigilant councerning the safety of our community and the decontamination process conducted under the responsibility of the MDDEFP. We invite the citizens of Pointe-Claire to consult the Citys website for all of the latest developments at www.ville.point-claire.qc.ca.