L'Or des autres

For some, it's a bonanza. For others, it's a trap waiting to crush them in its jaws. Whatever their opinion, though, it's destiny for the 3,640 inhabitants of the tiny one-industry town of Malartic, Abitibi, which was rocked in 2006 by Osisko's siting of the biggest open-pit gold mine in Canada in their town. Expropriations, relocations, destruction of 205 homes, two schools, two retirement homes and a daycare: It wasn't an easy fit. Not to mention what it did to the town's heritage and the daily lives of its inhabitants. Simon Plouffe gives them the chance to speak and, in doing so, creates a first long feature that puts all the issues of this bafflingly complex situation into focus.