Fermont, Quebec
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| City of Fermont Ville de Fermont |
|
| Motto: Faire front, faire face (French) | |
| Coordinates: | |
|---|---|
| Country |  Canada |
| Province |  Québec |
| Region | Côte-Nord |
| Regional county municipality | Caniapiscau |
| First Settlement | 1971 |
| Incorporated (city) | October 15, 1974 |
| Government | |
| - Mayor | Lise Pelletier |
| Area | |
| - Total | 497.45 km² (192.1 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 610 m (2,001 ft) |
| Population (2006)StatsCan | |
| - Total | 2,471 |
| - Density | 5/km² (12.9/sq mi) |
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) |
| Postal Code | G0G 1J0 |
| Area code(s) | 418 |
| Website: City of Fermont official site (French) | |
Fermont is a French-speaking town in northeastern Quebec, Canada. It has a population of 2,471 (2006), and lies near the Quebec-Labrador border about 23 kilometres from Labrador City on Route 389, which connects to the Trans-Labrador Highway (Route 500). Fermont (French contraction of "Fer Mont", meaning "Iron Mountain") was founded as a company town in the early 1970s to exploit rich iron ore deposits from nearby Mont Wright. It is the seat of the Regional County Municipality of Caniapiscau.
The town is notable for the huge self-contained structure containing apartments, stores, schools, bars, a hotel, restaurants, a supermarket and swimming pool which shelters a community of smaller apartment buildings and homes on its leeward side. The structure was designed to permit residents (other than mine workers) to never leave the building during the long winter, which usually lasts about seven months. The town, designed by Maurice Desnoyers and Norbert Schoenauer, was inspired by similar projects in Sweden designed by Ralph Erskine, notably that of Svappavaara, a copper mining town in Sweden. The building measures 1.3 kilometres long and stands 50 metres high. [1]
Contents |
[edit] City Council
The city council is comprised of a mayor and six city councilors. The current mayor is Lise Pelletier, and the councilors are Dave Bouchard, Janelle Gauthier, Claude Meilleur, Brigitte Poitras, Martin St-Laurent and Yan St-Pierre.
[edit] Economy
The local economy is entirely dependent on the mine owned by Québec Cartier Mining Company [2]. Average earnings for full time workers was $63,982 in 2001, compared to $39,217 in Quebec as a whole. [3] The mine product is shipped to Port-Cartier on the Cartier Railway where it is converted to pellets. In 2006 the mine was affected by a labour dispute which lasted from early April to early June. It was amicably resolved with a six-year contract renewal.[4]
[edit] Notes
- ^ The Windscreen (from Caniapiscau). Retrieved on 2006-06-24.
- ^ Socio-economic profile CÔTE-NORD. Retrieved on 2006-06-24.
- ^ Statistics Canada Community Profile. Retrieved on 2006-06-24.
- ^ Cartier Mining press release. Retrieved on 2006-06-24.
[edit] Sources
- City of Fermont official site (French) retrieved September 7, 2007
- Directory of Québec Municipalities (French)
- Toponymie Commission of Québec (French)
