Last July, a study by the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec (INSPQ) confirmed that the ambient air of the city of Rouyn-Noranda was loaded with contaminants, which exposes its inhabitants to a high risk of developing cancer. of the lung. The cause ? The Horne smelter, the city’s main industry, which, thanks to an agreement with the Quebec government, is authorized to emit 100 ng/m3 of arsenic in the atmosphere, whereas the standard set by the province is rather 3 ng/m3.
Faced with the outcry raised by the unveiling of these data, the Legault government has undertaken to reduce this ceiling to 15 ng/m3 by 2027; a resolution that 58% of the population of Rouyn-Noranda considers insufficient.
The case was taken up and dissected by all the media in the province. Meanwhile, inside the city, emotions, reflections, tensions, the unspoken and the urgency foamed at every street corner. “I was obsessed with the idea that we had to talk about this event from the inside, that we give people from here a platform,” says Marie Noëlle Blais, literary director at Quartz editions. The project involved its share of risk, and we hesitated a lot. After reflection, we came to the conclusion that literature allows us to say everything, to transform our anger into something less sterile. »
For writing Arsenic my lovethe first book in the new Brûlot collection devoted to essays and reflection, the publisher contacted Jean-Lou David and Gabrielle Izaguirré-Falardeau, two young writers from the region.
Ambivalence
Knowing each other only by interposed feathers, the two authors undertook an intimate epistolary exchange rooted in the territory and its history. They explore and nuance the troubled relationship they maintain with the foundry, and question its mythological and identity hold, both individually and collectively; an exercise in which they embarked with caution and rigor, plagued by doubt.
“The Rouynorandian community lives and dies for this industry, with which it maintains a complex, intimate and historical relationship,” says Jean-Lou David. It is the backbone of the city. Everyone is somewhat attached to it in a contradictory way. Often, when we raise our voices against the mining or foundry industry, it is as if we were devaluing ourselves in the eyes of Quebec. It is an epidermal subject, which affects people and arouses emotional reactions in them. For my part, I believe that it is possible to talk about it with nuances and precautions. »
I have never been anything other than Rouynorandian. And yet, for a few days, weeks or months, I no longer really know what that means.
For Gabrielle Izaguirré-Falardeau, the events of the summer have opened a breach in the roots of her identity that she still has trouble understanding. “I have never been anything other than Rouynorandian. And yet, for a few days, weeks or months, I no longer really know what that means, ”she wrote.
“I experienced a great disillusion, she underlines in an interview. I am very attached to my region. Many formative elements of my life as an adult and as a woman took shape in this precious place, where I am surrounded by people to whom I devote respect, admiration and gratitude. Until this summer, until the stakes became more tangible for the population, I had not been so exposed to the divisions, conflicts and tensions that the foundry can cause. I understood that we were more inseparable from the mining industry than I thought. I had the impression of having idealized my relationship to the region, of not having become aware of what formed my community as a whole and of my belonging to this territory. »
Take over
Arsenic my love is part of a long tradition of citizen mobilization that has come and gone again on a cyclical basis since the foundry was set up nearly a century ago. “I think, and this is my personal opinion, that not much can happen in Abitibi without the mining industry. When I immerse myself in the city’s archives, I see that citizen mobilization has punctuated history, in this desire to find a balance between the life of the community and that of the region. Public speaking is essential to this balance. Even if I don’t consider myself an activist, I have the impression, with this book, of placing myself in resonance with something that has existed for a very long time”, emphasizes Jean-Lou David.
From the intimate and embodied perspective of the essay emerges a deep reflection on the exploitation of the territory by large industries, but also a great declaration of love for a region, its magnetic landscapes, its creative silences, its spaces united. “Abitibi’s isolation and shortcomings give rise to a need to unite, to create innovative solutions, to think together about our community,” adds Gabrielle Izaguirré-Falardeau.
Unlike her colleague, who thinks that Abitibi will die with its mines, the activist hopes that this solidarity and this cohesion will allow the region to exist beyond the mining industry and land use. However, she remains lucid.
“A few days ago, an article again extolled the potential of the metals of the future, and the role that Abitibi will play in it. It is a fight that is far from over. There may be no way out, but that’s no reason to stand still and stop demanding the exploration of other avenues and the protection of our natural resources, she says. I believe in the need to take care of our region by keeping the mining industry accountable, so that it is not the cause of our loss. »