Residents of northern Ontario town frustrated with proposed mine that would force them to relocate
If plans to develop a northeastern Ontario mine go ahead, the roughly 500 residents of Virginiatown will need to be relocated to nearby communities.
Cadillac Mines is proposing an open pit mine in Virginiatown that would force a full relocation
Jonathan Migneault · CBC News
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If plans to develop a northeastern Ontario mine go ahead, the roughly 500 residents of Virginiatown will need to be relocated to nearby communities.
Residents learned about the plan when Cadillac Mines CEO Rick Howes said at an investor conference on Sept. 29 that a proposed open pit gold mine would occupy most of the town.
"It's about 250 homes, 500 people. The town has been on a downhill slide since the mine shut down in 1996, so there aren't many services left in town for the people that live there," he said at the meeting. "There's not a lot of opposition as we talk to the community about moving the town."
Around half of Virginiatown's residents were at a public meeting Wednesday evening where the company updated people on its plans.
Leon Leblanc, Cadillac Mines' president and chief operating officer, gave Virginiatown residents more details about a proposed open-pit mine that would occupy a lot of the town's existing footprint. (Jimmy Chabot/Radio-Canada)
“We came in here to apologize. These were obviously comments that were not meant to hurt or to insult anybody,” said Cadillac Mines president and chief operating officer Leon Leblanc, referring to Howes’ earlier comments.
“They were, I think, distasteful, and we're regretting them.”
Leblanc said plans for the proposed mine are early, but if the company were to move ahead, it would require purchasing every home in Virginiatown and resettling everyone.
“We've determined that essentially for the project to be moved up to construction and operation, the impact on McGarry Township is too large and too wide to maintain a portion of the township in place,” he said.
He said the company expects to have more certainty about whether or not it intends to move ahead with the mine by mid-2027.
‘They’re trying to kick us out of our homes’
Residents at the meeting expressed their anger and frustration at the proposed plan and a lack of details so far.
“They're trying to kick us out of our homes,” said Jennifer Tweedy, who recently moved to Virginiatown from the Niagara region.
“My grandmother just moved up here. We're not ready to leave yet. They're going to have to give us more.”
Steve Mallack said even the possibility of a mine forcing everyone to relocate destroys his property value.
“As far as I'm concerned, Cadillac Mines has made Virginiatown a lame duck for selling or buying property,” he said.
Mallack said that for the two years it will take for Cadillac Mines to finalize its plans and determine if it will move ahead with the mine, he will be unable to sell his home.
“Cadillac Mines has made them the only possible buyers for any of the houses in Virginiatown,” he said.
Pat Stevens says she moved to Virginiatown to retire in a more affordable home. Now she's unsure about her future there. (Jimmy Chabot/Radio-Canada)
Pat Stevens said the company’s presentation was vague and didn’t answer her questions.
“I want to be sure that I'm going to be compensated for my moving expenses, for my costs of my home, for the cost of all the repairs I've made to my home,” she said.
“And I would like to guarantee that I will wind up with what I have now, which is a mortgage-free property.”
Stevens said she recently moved to Virginiatown from Grey County, Ont., for the more affordable housing, and to retire.
Because of the lower property values, she said it would be difficult to return to Grey County.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jonathan Migneault is a CBC News reporter based in Sudbury. He is always looking for good stories about northeastern Ontario. Send story ideas to jonathan.migneault@cbc.ca.
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