Displaying items by tag: Canada

Canada: Quebec's US$350m investment in a new cement plant from Bombardier's founding family in the job-starved Gaspé region is a 'terrible deal' that could end up being a 'financial sinkhole' for taxpayers, according to the Province's Coalition Avenir Québec (CAQ) opposition party.

CAQ has called on Quebec to renegotiate the agreement with McInnis Cement, which is owned by the Bombardier-Beaudoin family. The party said that it saw a copy of the confidential agreement and that private investors, notably the family, are only putting in US$62m of money to gain majority control of the project, while Quebec will contribute several times that amount but will only get a minority stake.

In January 2014 McInnis announced plans for a US$1bn cement plant in Port-Daniel-Gascons that would produce 2.2Mt/yr of cement, largely for export by ship to the US. The project was being billed as a saviour for the chronically under-employed Gaspé region because it will support 1500 construction jobs and provide work for 200 permanent plant employees.

CAQ said that Pauline Marois's Parti Québécois government had by-passed Investissement Québec, the province's investment arm and ordered that the money be disbursed without analysis by Investissement's board. Quebec confirmed that it would provide McInnis with an interest-bearing loan of US$250m and take a US$100m equity stake in the company.

The federal government also contributed US$100m to the project through split participation by Export Development Canada and the Business Development Bank of Canada. This is senior-ranking debt, to be repaid first in the event of a default, and part of a larger banking group that included National Bank.

"The federal government decided that it couldn't risk taking equity or subordinate debt like Quebec did," said CAQ economy and external trade critic Stéphane Le Bouyonnec. "The reason is simple; the industry is already in a situation of overcapacity. We predict that this transaction could become a financial sinkhole, a disaster for the government of Quebec."

A December 2013 study on the cement market by independent economist Colin Sutherland concluded that adding McInnis's capacity to the mix could delay the return of a healthy supply-demand balance in north-eastern North America well beyond the expected date of 2021. At the moment, Quebec has about 1.2Mt/yr of unused capacity while eastern Pennsylvania and New York have about 0.6Mt/yr, meaning many plants are operating well below maximum volume.

"The rationale for this deal is not sound," said Michael McSweeney, president of the Cement Association of Canada. "When this project goes ahead, it will just shift jobs from other parts of Quebec to the Gaspé."

Quebec Premier Pauline Marois defended the agreement, calling it a 'good project' in which the government is demanding a higher interest rate than normal because it understands the risk.

The McInnis Cement announcement of 31 January 2014 can be found here.

On 31 January 2014, the Québec government announced that it would invest US$350m in a new US$1bn, 2.2Mt/yr cement plant and port facility, to be operated by McInnis Cement at Port-Daniel. To say that this has prompted outrage in the industry is an understatement. Rival cement producers, including Lafarge and Ciments Québec have been unanimous in condemning the funding, which they see as an unjustified affront to fair competition in the province's cement industry. There was an angry response on the Global Cement LinkedIn Group, with dissatisfaction on a number of levels.

Firstly, established manufacturers highlight that the Québec cement market is in a slump, with 100-150 members of Métallos, the United Steelworkers union, currently on rolling temporary furloughs at any one time. There is over-capacity as it is. How will another cement plant help this situation? One contributor to the Global Cement LinkedIn Group said that the funding was like, "Taking the money I pay as taxes to break my legs." Another said, "Imagine our tax dollars heavily subsidising our direct competitor - totally unacceptable!"

Secondly, the government will have a direct interest in the cement industry, diverting public funds to a sector that (in the West) is traditionally left to its own devices. What does the government have to gain from this move? Well, there are suggestions that the awarding of future government cement and concrete contracts can no longer be fair due to the rather obvious conflict of interest. Could the government effectively award contracts to itself? Arguments from the government and McInnis that its distribution will be outside the areas served by the other plants don't seem to wash with the established producers.

Thirdly, there are fingers pointed at the Gaspasia paper mill project, a failed government-funded installation that was not established in the 1990s at a cost to the taxpayer of US$300m. It is unlikely that any of the parties involved would like to see a repeat at Port-Daniel.

Finally, the Canadian government appears to have turned its back on its own 'Wood First' policy, signed in April 2013, which stated that wood should be preferred in construction over cement and steel due to environmental concerns over embodied CO2. At the time Canadian cement manufacturers were at pains to point out that cement and concrete constructions were actually sustainable in comparison to many other building materials, especially with repect to long-term use and minimisation of energy consumed during a building's lifespan. At worst this seems to be a government U-turn but it could yet get more ugly. Now, with funding for new cement capacity, Québec appears to have 'listened' to the cement producers. How long before some cynics point to this change as evidence that the government wanted McInnis Cement to happen all along?

Whether a gross miscalculation or a deliberate ploy by the government, the McInnis Cement saga will not be going away. Ciments Québec and Lafarge will line up to fight the decision and, in litigation-heavy North America, this story could run and run.

Canada: It has been announced that a controversial new US$1bn cement plant and marine terminal, to be constructed by McInnis Cement, will be part financed by the Quebec government and two provincial agencies. The authorities will inject US$350m into the Port-Daniel facility. The other US$650m will be provided by McInnis Cement, which is owned by the Beaudoin/Bombardier family that also controls Bombardier Inc, and aircraft and rolling stock manufacturer.

The McInnis project is scheduled to produce 2Mt/yr and will employ about 2400 workers during the construction phase. The plant will employ around 400 people directly and indirectly by 2016, when it is scheduled to start operations. The company has access to a 450Mt limestone reserve.

A union official who represents about 500 workers at two existing cement plants in St-Constant and St-Basile-de-Portneuf reacted with outrage to the project. "Our members are very angry," said Daniel Roy, Quebec director of Métallos, the United Steelworkers union. "We just don't get it. The cement industry is already in an overcapacity situation and at any given time, between 100 and 150 of our members are sitting at home on temporary furlough. Here they are announcing a huge project like that. It will inevitably mean layoffs at our current plants."

Another irritated party is Lafarge, which has long complained that the McInnis project would benefit unfairly from Quebec taxpayer money and would further distort the market, which already has oversupply. In September 2013 a Lafarge executive warned that the four established players, itself, Colacem, Holcim and Ciment Québec, would be unfairly disadvantaged.

Canada: The Cement Association of Canada (CAC) held a press conference on 12 December 2013 to demand that the changes proposed for the next edition of the National Building Code of Canada (NBCC) be significantly improved to provide better safety for all Canadians. One such change would increase the maximum wood building height to six storeys from the current limit of four.

The CAC contends that the construction of five and six storey wood frame buildings could present many safety concerns for Canadians. "If these taller wood frame buildings are included in the Code, Canada could see an increase in fires and put vulnerable Canadians at risk," said Michael McSweeney, president and CEO of the CAC.

The current proposal has many deficiencies, and the CAC strongly recommends that a number of additional provisions be implemented. These include non-combustible stairwells and elevator shafts to provide fire-fighters with a safe refuge area from which to stage their fire-fighting and rescue operations and residents with a safe place to go so they can be rescued; non-combustible cladding and non-combustible roofing which is fundamental to preventing a fire from spreading to adjacent buildings. Additionally, non-combustible two-hour firewalls should be mandated on these buildings along with the installation of sprinkler protection during the construction phase. Finally, the CAC believes that the protection of the lives of fire-fighters should be included in the NBCC.

"The proposed changes have potentially life and death implications," said Carl Pearson, a First Captain with the Thorold Fire and Emergency Services and the Past President of the Fire Fighters' Association of Ontario. "For fire-fighters, our number one concern is to safely rescue people, without casualties. If these proposed changes to the NBCC are implemented, Canadians lives could be at risk. We don't want that to happen."

Canada: Lafarge Canada wants to use fracking waste water from two Hants County holding ponds in its Brookfield cement plant, Colchester County.

The Brookfield plant currently uses 35ML/yr of fresh water from Shortts Lake to control the exhaust temperatures of its rotary cement kiln. The fracking waste water would be injected into the kiln in place of some of the water drawn from Shortts Lake, and would be evaporated and emitted out the stack.

"We're looking to do a trial. We want to do a test to see if this water will work with our manufacturing process," said Lafarge spokesman Regan Watts.

However, the proposal has some Colchester County residents on edge. "I think people are a bit concerned," said Bob Taylor, mayor of the Municipality of the County of Colchester. "They are worried about possible harmful effects from it so they want to know it's safe before it goes ahead."

Environment Minister Randy Delorey said that the waste water is being treated a second time by Atlantic Industrial Services using reverse osmosis prior to any use in the plant. He said that the province will consider different options for the waste water once it receives the final test results, expected in early 2014. "It's safe enough to drink," Watts said. "The contaminants have been removed and the recycled waste water exceeds government guidelines to be released in the environment."

Canada: Lafarge Canada Inc. have temporarily laid off 31 of its 50 unionised workers for December 2013 at its Brookfield cement plant as a seasonal cost-cutting measure.

"These workers will be back on the job early in the new year," said plant manager Scarth MacDonnell, who added that the temporary layoff is consistent with the seasonal nature of the business. "It is an unfortunate reality given the weather-related impact of the construction industry."

The future of the plant is solid as it continues to service Lafarge customers throughout Canada and the US. "Lafarge is firmly committed to its Brookfield plant for the long term and we will make the necessary investments to secure our future in Nova Scotia," said MacDonnell.

The Brookfield Lafarge plant received US$631,000 from the ecoNova Scotia Fund for Clean Air and Climate Change in 2010 to gear up for production of a new variety of low-carbon cement. The environmentally friendly cement is set to be in production at the plant by 2015.

Canada: A new report by the Winnipeg-based International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) on the implications of climate change on Canada's infrastructure has been published with the support of the Cement Association of Canada.

'Climate Change Adaptation and Canadian Infrastructure' summarises current literature dealing with the challenge of adapting to climate change in Canada. Intended to serve as stimulus for further discussion around planned adaptation to climate change in Canada, the report explored climate impacts and risks to key infrastructure by region and by type. The report also introduced a number of key policy, regulatory, and financial tools for consideration.

"The cement and concrete industry is committed to being a proactive partner in addressing the challenges of mitigating and adapting to climate change," said Michael McSweeney, President and CEO of the Cement Association of Canada. "We are in an age of massive re-investment in our basic infrastructure in Canada, and this presents an enormous opportunity to both mitigate climate change through reduced CO₂ emissions as well as prepare ourselves for the changes in our climate that are already underway."

Canada: Mantra Venture Group has completed the first phase of engineering for its 'Electro-Reduction of Carbon Dioxide' (ERC) pilot plant. BC Research (BCRI), the technology commercialisation arm of NORAM Engineering and Constructors, has delivered a comprehensive first phase report that details the estimated cost of the plant, which will capture waste carbon dioxide at the Lafarge cement plant in Richmond, British Colombia. The second phase of engineering, which will provide a 'ready-to-build' plant design, is set to begin soon.

So far this work has resulted in several process improvements, including the introduction of a product treatment stage that will deliver a highly concentrated liquid product. As this will be capable of reaching the levels at which the products are typically used in industry, Mantra expects to be able to sell product directly out of the pilot plant. Improved process control, instrumentation, and flow scheme will deliver a more robust demonstration and greatly facilitate the commercial scale-up of the process.

"This will be the very first plant to electrochemically reduce carbon dioxide in an industrial setting. I think people will be very excited when they see a valuable, salable liquid product coming out of the Lafarge flue gas stack," said Mantra's Chief Technology Officer Patrick Dodd.

Canada: Lafarge Canada, Natural Resources Canada, the Queen's Institute for Energy and Environmental Policy and Carbon Management Canada have announced that they are investing more than US$8m to develop the use of alternative fuels at Lafarge Canada's cement plant in Bath, Ontario. This multi-partner initiative intends to produce low-emission, low-carbon fuels from local supplies such as construction and demolition site debris (wood based), railway ties, and other energy containing materials that aren't presently recycled.

"We are delighted to bring this world-class demonstration initiative to the Canadian cement industry. We believe that this project is exactly in line with our mission of building better cities by lowering our carbon footprint, making use of local fuel supplies and creating local sustainable jobs," said Bob Cartmel, President and Chief Executive Officer in Eastern Canada for Lafarge Canada Inc.

According to figures released by Lafarge, the Canadian cement industry currently emits about 3.8% of the country's carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and about 30 - 40% of those emissions are due to fossil fuel use.

Carbon Management Canada (CMC), a network of Centres of Excellence that supports research to reduce CO₂ emissions, is providing a US$400,000 grant over three years to a research team working on the project. Natural Resources Canada is awarding US$2.68m to Lafarge Canada to construct a full-scale demonstration plant. Other project partners include Pollution Probe, WWF Canada, Queen's University, the Cement Association of Canada, Mesa Bioenergy, Scott Environmental and Rail Link, a Metis company.

Canada: The Cement Association of Canada has applauded the Government of Canada's announcement that it will invest almost US$1m in Ontario-based Pond Biofuels for the advancement of Canadian biofuel technology and expertise. The investment will be made under the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario's 'Investing in Business Innovation' initiative.

The contribution will help Pond Biofuels complete a pilot demonstration of a technology developed jointly with St Marys Cement to capture and convert CO₂ and other emissions from the cement manufacturing process into oxygen and biomass.

"This technology pioneered by Pond Biofuels in partnership with St Marys Cement speaks to the Canadian cement industry's commitment to innovation and commitment to reducing its carbon footprint," said Michael McSweeney, President and CEO of the Cement Association of Canada. "Government support plays a critical role in fostering innovation and we warmly welcome the investment in this groundbreaking initiative as an important step in the future of sustainable development for Canada's cement industry."