It took decades for the Horne Foundry to hit the wall of social responsibility, after decades of pollution, destruction, shameful profits and community disregard. The lawless organization that is Glencore proves to be stubborn and tough to preserve its achievements. I lived there for six years, in 1984. I stared in dismay at large wooded areas whose trees were black, scorched by pollution, slimy ground at their feet, like in movies of the living dead. I noticed smoke from the factory more than five kilometers from town, black smoke crawling towards Malartic. I caught the stench of their activities, wafting over their beautiful golf courses and the park around Lake Osisko, beauties that further heightened the ugliness of this foundry’s facilities.
After decades of billions in profits, amassed on the back of healthy communities and ecosystems, the possibility that the government could subsidize them to reward them for their environmental crimes sickens me.
Leaders have known for a very long time that one day or another, they would be called to account. The later the better. The precautionary principle is unknown to them. During these decades, they reap the profits, invest minimally in research to reduce pollution, but without concrete actions and objectives to reach acceptable standards.
After all, the intolerable has been tolerated for so long. No rush.
They then stretch the time by counting on the passivity of resigned people and keep in their sleeve the card of the hundreds of jobs that they procure for the city so that we subsidize their upgrading and that we tolerate their offences.
Unsustainable development in its most detestable manifestation.
It will take much more than positive publicity to change this industry, although some mining companies are making real efforts. Concerted action by world governments will no doubt be required to tame this ferocious beast in search of fresh blood for its vampiric stockholders.
In the meantime, do not feed them with our money.