Schefferville, Quebec

Schefferville is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec. Schefferville is in the heart of the Innu territory in northern Quebec, less than 2 km from the border with Labrador on the north shore of Knob Lake. At the 2006 census it had a population of 202 inhabitants, a decline of almost 16 percent from the 2001 census total of 240. The town has an incorporated area of 25.11 km² (9.69 sq mi). It is located within the Caniapiscau Regional County Municipality.

Schefferville, which constitutes the northern terminus of Tshiuetin Rail Transportation (formerly operated by the Quebec North Shore & Labrador (QNS&L) Railway), was established as a town in 1954 to support the mining of the extremely rich iron ore deposits in the area. The original settlement was called "Burnt Creek" and was located some miles to the north of the current location of the town of Schefferville.

When the plans were drawn up for the town, it was originally called Knob Lake after a prominent iron ore outcropping visible on a prominent hill south of the town site.

For some years NORAD operated a radar station in Schefferville as part of the "MEW" (Middle Early Warning) line, part of North America's defences against possible Soviet attack across the arctic.

The name Schefferville was adopted in honour of (Roman Catholic) Bishop Lionel Scheffer, O.M.I., who served as the Vicar Apostolic of Labrador from March 14, 1946 until his death on October 3, 1966.

Schefferville was established by the Iron Ore Company Of Canada, which currently conducts iron mining operations in the town of Labrador City, Labrador, 250 km to the south. Iron ore mining at Schefferville ceased in 1980, on orders from the then president of the Iron Ore Company of Canada, Brian Mulroney, who later became Prime Minister of Canada. Most of the 4,000 or so non-aboriginal occupants left, leaving mostly aboriginal people who settled there in the preceding 30 years. Some houses and public facilities have been demolished, but some new homes have been built. Mc Gill University continues to operate the McGill Subarctic Research Station in Schefferville.

The Naskapi first nation people mostly live in the village of Kawawachikamach, Quebec nearby. They are mostly Anglican and Protestant and speak English as their second language. The other first nation tribe, residing mainly in the town of Schefferville and the village of Matimekosh, are the Montagnais, who are largely Roman Catholic and speak French as their second language. Nearly all residents of the area are quadrilingual to a certain extent; alternating between Naskapi, Montagnais, English and French.

The controversial mid-20th century Quebec premier, Maurice Duplessis, died in Schefferville on September 7, 1959. His government was defeated the following year while being led by his second of two successors, the first having died in January 1960.

Recent developments

Due to the increasing demand for steel and iron ore there are currently two official projects to re-establish mining operations out of Schefferville.

The first is The LabMag Iron Ore Project in Labrador, 30 kilometres west of Schefferville. The objective is to develop mining and concentrating near Schefferville that will mine 33 million tonnes of crude iron ore per year to produce 10 million tonnes per year of concentrate and pellets for a minimum of 20 years. Actual mining production is projected to begin around 2011. The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach owns 20% of The LabMag Iron Ore Project.

In addition, Anglesey Mining is currently doing a feasibility study on some former Iron Ore Company of Canada deposits. Anglesey plans to mine between two to three million tons of ore a year by 2007.

References

* [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/profiles/community/Details/Page.cfm?Lang=E&Geo1=CSD&Code1=2497040&Geo2=PR&Code2=24&Data=Count&SearchText=Schefferville&SearchType=Begins&SearchPR=24&B1=All&Custom= Schefferville, Quebec] Statistics Canada