By Ahmad Hathout
CHAMBLY, Quebec – Bell is searching for other locations to install a handful of telecom poles whose previous intended location was denied by the Quebec agriculture commission after it fielded concerns related to their potential impact on agriculture.
Bell wants to bring to standard a now-obsolete line of joint-owned poles with utility Hydro Quebec from a wooded wetland along Masse Creek in Chambly. That requires it to remove six poles and plant five new ones on a lot owned by a residence in Chemin Bellerive and that includes a grain cultivation company.
The town of Carignan supported the application in a council meeting on February 1 this year and passed land use rules.
But the Fédération de l’UPA de la Montérégie, which represents a chunk of farms in the province, urged the agriculture commission to deny the application in a notice on April 4 out of concern that the line of poles could constrain agricultural activities.
The agriculture commission held a preliminary view last month that the Bell application should be rejected. Earlier this month, it formally denied the application on the basis that no new information surfaced that would change the result.
“Although the area concerned is minimal and the use sought is not the most [destructive] for the surrounding agricultural community, the Commission is not convinced that the site concerned constitutes a site of lesser impact for agriculture,” the commission said in its preliminary view. “Indeed, the first 2 southern sections of the chosen route cross a field under cultivation, which is likely to impose constraints on current agricultural practices.”
A Bell spokesperson told Cartt that the company is “aware of the decision and our network team is working to find a suitable location to install the new pole.”
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly said Chambly and Carignan are part of Montreal.
