By Trevor Greenway

A group of concerned citizens, politicians and firefighters in Low are fighting to save their town from mining companies that have already staked out 20 per cent of the municipality’s territory. 

Action Low said that its expansive farmland, extensive riverfront and sprawling acres of agro-tourism are no place for a graphite mine. 

“The fundamental thing is that we have an economy already, and it’s agriculture,” said Carolyn Raab, one of the founders of the citizen action group, Action Low. “The economy is running well. It’s a variety of different operations, but it’s been here for, you know, at least 150 years in one form. So there are smaller farms, but they’re niche, and they’re profitable, and they need all the land that they can possibly get.”

The group, which started as a small citizen group by Raab, has grown close to 300 members. 

According to Action Low, mining companies have staked their claim on 13,000 acres of land throughout Low, which works out to roughly 20 per cent of the municipality. 

Much of this is private land – farms and residences like Ellen Rice-Hogan’s farm. 

She said she was surprised to learn in 2023 that On Track Exploration, a mining company, had claimed 538 acres of land– claims that popped up sometime between September and December of 2023 without notice. 

Wally Brownrigg is another longtime Low resident who said he saw claims pop up on his farm – land he said he has spent 50 years maintaining. He told the Low Down last year that, “[I] invested my life into this.”

According to Raab, what Action Low is scared most by is the fact that a mining company is already at the exploratory stage at the La Loutre graphite mine near Duhamel, which is just 80 kilometers away from Low. The company leading that project, Lomiko Metals, has vowed to continue extracting graphite and lithium despite Quebec pulling funding for the mine. Lomiko also has several claims in Low and Kitigan Zibi, and, according to Action Low, the fear is that the company could start digging locally in the coming months or years. 

“In the case of cattle farming, most operators are leasing lands beyond what they themselves own, and so taking away any acreage is going to impact agriculture. 

It’ll just mean that these farms can’t operate because they can’t be at the scale they need to be to earn a decent living,” explained Raab.

“Mining doesn’t bring anything, it just leaves us with noise and a blasted hole in the ground,” she added.

Action Low has been attending the MRC Vallée-de-la-Gatineau council meetings, and said it is hoping the MRC itself submits a plan to protect the region from future mines. 

The group is pressuring Quebec to change the Mining Act to give regional governments more power when deciding whether or not a mining operation can start to explore in its territory. 

Action Low said it has attended rallies in Montreal and Quebec City and is working with the 17 other municipalities in the region to ward off the multiple companies. 

Low council and mayors from the 17 other municipalities that make up the northern MRC passed a resolution to protect water sources across the region from mining operations. That protection is only temporary and has to be renewed every six months. 

“The nature of mining is – it’s a business,” said Low Coun. Maureen McEvoy, one of Action Low’s spokespeople. “It’s an extractive business that has 10 to 15 years of collection. And it changes the landscape forever.”

According to the group, Action Low will continue to attend rallies, meetings and pressure its MRC to submit a protection plan to the province.