Moratorium on PFAS soil transfers
Petitioners ask the Government of Canada to have National Defence impose a moratorium on sending PFAS‑contaminated soil to Mascouche, thermally decontaminate existing and future PFAS soils before disposal, and assume financial responsibility including filter replacement.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would pause shipments to Mascouche and require thermal treatment before disposal, which petitioners say would reduce the risk of PFAS leaching and new contamination.
- Decontaminating existing and future soils, and treating them nearby, would cut long‑distance transport of contaminated soil and address already landfilled contamination.
- Federal financial responsibility would support long‑term management, monitoring and the use of best‑known techniques, including ongoing filter replacement while PFAS persist.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- A moratorium and mandatory thermal decontamination would raise costs and could delay necessary waste handling, imposing logistical and fiscal burdens.
- Thermal treatment and retroactive decontamination of already landfilled soil are complex and may require new facilities, long timelines and uncertain feasibility.
- The petition mandates a specific approach; reasonable critics could prefer alternative remediation methods, centralized treatment, or regulatory oversight rather than a single mandated solution.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the Government of Canada Less than 45 km from CFB Bagotville, there is a safe thermal treatment solution for PFAS-contaminated soil (forever chemicals) prior to landfilling; However, National Defence is currently transferring approximately 150,000 tonnes of PFAS-contaminated soil from CFB Bagotville in Saguenay to a landfill site in Mascouche nearly 500 km away without prior decontamination; Experts estimate that landfilling these PFAS without prior decontamination poses real and permanent risks of leaching and new contamination; and To ensure the long-term safe treatment of leachate seeping from landfill cells, current technology requires frequent filter replacement at a significant cost to protect nearby water sources. We, the undersigned, citizens of Quebec, call upon the Government of Canada to have National Defence impose a moratorium on the transfer of PFAS-contaminated soil to Mascouche. We also call for PFAS-contaminated soil to be thermally decontaminated prior to landfilling, as was done at CFB Borden in Ontario, and for soil already landfilled in Mascouche to also be decontaminated. Finally, we call upon the government to exercise due diligence by assuming financial responsibility for the management of PFAS for which it is responsible, ensuring that the best-known techniques are used for safe and optimal management, including frequent filter replacement for as long as PFAS are present.
Government response
No government response is available yet.