Comment: Look at the following statement: "Masse was handcuffed and forced out of his home this morning by the police"! Will this be VA residents future, forced out our homes for the greed of corporations? Will this be Chatham or Halifax, whole towns destroyed by greed? We do not need uranium, we do not need nuke plants! True green energy can handle our ecletrical needs in the future!
Posted Aug 9, 2010
by Laura Trowbridge
The solitary man who was holding out from selling his childhood home to Osisko Mining Corporation has lost his battle and his home now.
Earlier this year, Digital Journal reported on the faceoff between one man and a gold mining company that wanted his home. Osisko Mining Corp. was able to buy all the other property and relocate the 204 residents who had property sitting on top of the location of the gold deposit.
Ken Masse, 35, was the one resident who would not budge from his property and allow the multibillion-dollar mining project to move forward in his hometown of Malartic, Quebec.
Masse, representing his mother who owns the propery, turned down a $350,000 offer for the home worth less than $20,000. But he also said the battle against Osisko was "not about money, but about protecting property rights and the environment from a massive open-pit mine."
Masse was supposed to be in court next month to fight a government expropriation order, but Osisko requested an emergency court decision and the court made its ruling last week.
Masse was ordered to relinquish his family's home by today, Monday. As for compensation, the family will now only receive market-level value for the old house, which will be determined by a provincial tribunal, and moving costs.
The Toronto Sun reports that Masse was handcuffed and forced out of his home this morning by the police.
Masse’s home, along with 200 others will be demolished in order to make room for the second largest gold reserves in Canada. When completed in 2011, it is expected to be the largest open-pit mine in Canada.
But Masse is planning on filing an appeal with the United Nations now. He is also in the process of organizing a sit-in with other townspeople to stop further development of the mining site.
"The Osisko Mining Corporation says the gold reserves in the region are the second largest in Canada. The firm says the Malartic mine will yield 17 tons of gold over its 12-year lifespan. When completed in 2011, it will be the largest open-pit mine in Canada."
Read more: http://www.digitaljournal.com/print/article/295770#ixzz11JpwJwnW
