Vitriol in Val d'Or: How homelessness and petty crime have reignited racial tensions

WARNING: This story contains vulgar language.

Most municipal council meetings go unnoticed. Not so for one recently in Val d'Or, Que., when fear, anger and racism bubbled to the surface and a shouting match erupted with hate on full display.

"There's an Indian pissing outside!" cried one man, a resident.

"It is always the Indigenous," a business owner said, outraged.

The city of about 33,000 is grappling with resentment from residents over homelessness and petty crime, a situation that appears to be pitting leaders against each other and reopening painful old wounds.

"I was utterly shocked and in disbelief that in 2023, the population has no more filter in terms of the racism and the racial remarks," said Johanne Lacasse, who works for the Native Friendship Centre in town.

Val d'Or, which means valley of gold, is a small city 530 kilometres north of Montreal. It owes its existence to the precious metal, with mines scattered over the area.

But long before that, the region was home to First Nations communities: Anishinaabe, Cree and Algonquin among others.

The relationship between the mining community and those nations has been sometimes collaborative but often fraught.

"Val d'Or is a hub for the north and it's also a service network for the Indigenous, Anishinaabe communities surrounding it," said Édith Cloutier, the executive director of the Native Friendship Centre.

"Since Val d'Or was Val d'Or, there has always been that interaction of Indigenous people in the city."

Some, though, arrive in the city only to find that housing is unavailable or too expensive for their budget, Cloutier said.

Some end up on the street.

In recent weeks, residents have complained about feeling unsafe. They have protested what they say is an increase in petty crime and demanded that police and elected officials do something about the homeless population.