Nelson Sergerie, LJI Journalist
GASPÉ – Environmental protection was the main point of discussion on October 9 between elected officials of the Côte-de-Gaspé MRC and the mining company Osisko, which wants to restart the exploitation of Mines Gaspé in Murdochville at the end of the decade.
The prefect, Daniel Côté, believes that the project is well received by the community. “What we appreciate about the company is that from the start of the exploration work, they put themselves in front of the population to receive questions and give answers. They have an attitude of transparency that is appreciated,” notes the prefect.
Company executives have held three information meetings in Murdochville since the revival of the mining project and met with elected officials from Côte-de-Gaspé on October 9.
They had questions about environmental impacts, social issues, where the workers will eventually come from and how the economic benefits will be distributed to ensure maximum economic benefits.
“The port of Sandy Beach is the largest port nearby. We want to use it. We will have a (repaired) railway when the mine is in operation. We are looking at all the development tools around it,” notes the prefect, recalling that at the time, all the surrounding communities benefited from concrete benefits.
The company indicated in the last citizen information meeting in September that it plans to use the train to transport ore to the Horne smelter in Rouyn-Noranda.
“Environmental concerns, particularly the impact of the dewatering of the pit on the York River. We don’t want economic development at all costs without considering all the other axes. We couldn’t afford to sacrifice the York River and Gaspé Bay for jobs. We’re going to stay on the lookout for all the environmental aspects that will have impacts,” notes Mr. Côté.
The company anticipates approximately 1,000 jobs during construction and between 300 and 500 jobs during operation.
“I expect these jobs to be well-paid, but we will have to seize opportunities around resource extraction and avoid harmful impacts when the mine closes. We experienced it in Murdochville: when the mine and the smelter closed, the town had difficulty recovering,” analyzes the elected official.
The minimal royalties planned for the community will have to be reviewed.
“Quebec pockets nice royalties, but they are low for the community. There will have to be discussions with government authorities so that there are additional royalties for the community to plan for ‘after the mine’, to
avoid the economic crash like we experienced in 2000,” Mr. Côté maintains.
The prefect senses a real concern for environmental protection on the part of Osisko
“We feel that there is a real concern. When we ask questions, there are answers. At least, it’s a winner. We
saw companies in the oil era that, when we asked questions, we got no answers. This time, we have clear answers,” he says, adding that Quebec environmental standards must be respected.
“I hope that there will be quite pronounced vigilance because this is an industry that could have environmental impacts. For now, transparency is required within the company and we will ensure that the Ministry of the Environment does its job so that we do not escape it,” demands the elected official.
Daniel Côté does not believe that we will see a population of around 5,000 people again, like in the town’s golden age.
“Unless we are able to build an economic fabric around the revenue generated by the mine. With 300 to 500 employees, we will not be able to house them in Murdochville or even in the surrounding area,” the elected official pointed out, noting that the vacancy rate is 1% in Gaspé.
“These are probably workers who will be there until 2050 or 2060. So, there is a prospect of profitability in housing construction. This is where we will have to convince real estate investors to redeploy housing in Murdochville, Gaspé, Grande-Vallée, Cloridorme and elsewhere and ensure that these workers live in the territory to avoid fly-in, fly-out,” said the prefect who hopes to maximize the economic benefits in the region.