The Regroupement de protection des Lacs de la Petite-Nation (RPLPN) announces that the results of the consultative referendum on the La Loutre mining project confirm the population's strong opposition to this open-pit mining project in the Outaouais region. The referendum, held in accordance with Élections Québec rules in the municipalities of Duhamel, Lac des Plages, Lac-Simon, Chénéville, and Saint-Émile-de-Suffolk, saw 95% of citizens answer NO to the question of whether or not to implement the La Loutre mining project.

With this clear message, the organizers are calling on provincial and federal authorities, as well as Lomiko Metals executives and investors, to take note of the overwhelming rejection by the population and to halt this mining project, which is financed in part by the US Army and is scheduled to begin blasting this fall. This unequivocal result demonstrates the incompatibility of the mining project with the area's natural ecosystems, the existing economic model of the region, as well as the population's desire to stop living under the threat of this mining project, which has gone on for too long.

The coalition of organizations that formed the Coalition du NON (the No coalition) expects the government to use all the laws and levers at its disposal to stop this project in the name of the public interest. It also points out that Premier François Legault has stated on several occasions that “if there is no social acceptability, there will be no mining activity.” Now that social acceptability has been measured, swift and concrete action is expected from his government.

The Coalition also expects the federal government and investors to stop supporting this project, which is located in a tourist region and natural area and to exclude it from any future list of projects of national interest.

The Coalition also calls on the Papineau Regional Countyy Municipality (MRC) Council to recognize the message sent by citizens and support a request to declare this territory incompatible with mining activity.

While business people and land protection and land use groups presented a united front, no local organization supported Lomiko Metals, and the company did not have a presence in the municipalities to defend its project. This lack of participation confirms the company's indifference to the local population and its contempt for the democratic process decided upon by the elected officials of Petite-Nation. In our opinion, this is a flagrant denial of the slogan “people first” that the company touts as its "raison d'être".

In closing, the Coalition would like to thank the Alliance des municipalités Petite-Nation Nord, which, with very limited resources and no government assistance, committed to the referendum process that made it possible to accurately gauge the lack of social acceptability of this project.

Quotes:

"Through this referendum, citizens have shown that mining is clearly not what they want for their region and that they will continue to oppose it. Mr. Legault, the public is now asking you, in the public interest, to revoke Lomiko Metals' mining rights in this area. We expect your government to take the concrete action you have committed to in light of the clear and democratic demonstration of social unacceptability." Louis St-Hilaire, President of the Petite-Nation Lake Protection Group, co-spokesperson for the QLAIM Coalition.

"In a rare show of unanimity and in the most democratic manner possible, citizens, the business community, and land use groups in the territory have rejected this unnatural development model, which, by its very presence, already jeopardizes the region's recreational and tourism profile, its abundant water resources, and the quality of life of its citizens. This must stop." Geneviève Gagnon, President of Groupe Gagnon, Évolution Structures, spokesperson for Petite-Nation business people against the Loutre project.

"The provincial and federal governments are blindly rushing into the race for critical and strategic minerals without taking into account the rights and opinions of their constituents. The people of Petite-Nation have just sent them a warning shot. Immediate climate solutions exist without bulldozing people and lakes. " Rodrigue Turgeon, lawyer, co-director of the Mining Watch Canada program and co-spokesperson for the Coalition Québec Meilleure Mine.

For more information:

• Louis St-Hilaire, President of the Regroupement de protection des lacs de la Petite-Nation, sthilairelouis@gmail.com 514-591-9167

• Geneviève Gagnon, President of Groupe Gagnon, Évolution Structures, spokesperson for Petite-Nation business people opposed to the La Loutre mining project, ggagnon@gagnonlgq.com 514-244-5622

• Rodrigue Turgeon, Co-Director of Mining Watch Canada, Co-Spokesperson for the Coalition Québec Meilleure Mine, rodrigue@miningwatch.ca 819-444-9226