In recent years, Schefferville is experiencing a new lease of life giving hope to its inhabitants.
From February 19 to March 9, 2013, nearly 350 soldiers from different regions of Quebec took part in a manoeuvre exercise in Schefferville, nicknamed *Northern Warrior*. The training aimed to prepare the Canadian Forces for any type of intervention in the Canadian Far North.
Alongside their colleagues from the second Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, participants practiced their basic winter warfare skills: landing a Hercules C-130 aircraft on an ice runway, simulating rail and air disasters, and training in extreme cold—all part of an intensive program followed by the attending soldiers.
Lieutenant-Colonel and exercise director Jean-Pascal Levasseur explained the mission as follows:
“This is a joint-forces collaboration exercise. HMCS Jolliet serves as our hub, and we work closely with the Canadian Rangers, experts in northern manoeuvres, who guide us in the field. The training is meant to be realistic—we simulated a military plane crash along with a major issue in railway transport. For the command team, the exercise is about communication. Each one presents their own way of managing the crisis to arrive at the best possible solution.”
Several camps were set up near strategic locations in the town, such as the train station, the airport, and around the ice runway. The exercise, which mobilized more than 700 people, provided a unique opportunity for the Armed Forces to meet with the local population.
One of the main challenges was building an ice runway on Lake Squaw, about ten kilometres from Schefferville. The milder temperatures at the time made the task more difficult:
“We needed a runway 5,000 feet long, 160 feet wide, and 56 inches thick. It required a tremendous effort from our team,” explained Lieutenant-Colonel Louis Lapointe.
On February 28, in the middle of the afternoon, the Hercules C-130 successfully landed and took off—flawlessly!
The Parc des Ailes, as we know it today, is located at the corner of French and Laurentides streets. For Schefferville’s long-time residents, this site was nicknamed the *mail lawn*, simply because the grassy area lies in front of the post office. Mail, being of great importance in this remote region, was checked daily, making the location a natural gathering spot in this charming green space.
This large lawn also has a unique story: its landscaping required numerous trials and the use of over 70 different soil blends, with varying degrees of success… before achieving the lush lawn we see today!
This welcoming place has become a gathering spot for young and old, residents and visitors alike, from all communities. In summer, due to its proximity to Lake Knob, friends often met there for a picnic break.
In winter, the area was often used for snowmobile parking. Its sloped terrain was popular with sledding enthusiasts. It’s also worth noting that this site was the starting point of the cross-country skiing competition during the 1976 Arctic Winter Games.
On the edge of the park stands *The Iron Man*, a monument that appeared in the landscape during the 1970 Iron Centenary. This striking sculpture is unquestionably the centrepiece of Parc des Ailes. Its body is made of old iron tool parts, and its head is fashioned from a drill bit!
The monument was originally created in front of the Recreation Centre, in the bend of the road connecting Pearce Lake and Knob Lake streets. Today, that location roughly corresponds to where the Matimekush-Lac John community chapel stands.
As that site did not do it justice, the monument was later moved to the large *mail lawn*, where it has stood watch over the 55ᵗʰ parallel residents ever since.
More recently, this popular space was renamed *Parc des Ailes*. Although the meaning behind the name remains somewhat mysterious, it may poetically refer to the large leaves of the Iron Tree located there.
Since August 2024, the park features a playground for young children with a variety of colourful and attractive play structures! This project was made possible thanks to financial support from the Société du Plan Nord and the Caniapiscau RCM.
The Schefferville region is currently home to around 2,000 residents, spread across three communities: Schefferville (200 people), the Innu community of Matimekush-Lac John (900 people), and the Naskapi community of Kawawachikamach (900 people).
Schefferville residents primarily work in services for First Nations (education, health, public safety, construction, transport, food services, and accommodation…).
With this in mind, the town’s authorities aim to offer a more attractive living environment to current and future citizens by building a multi-purpose facility suited to the population and able to host recreational and cultural activities.
In May 2017, a joint declaration of commitment was signed by Schefferville, Matimekush-Lac John, and Kawawachikamach to ensure a better future for their communities. More concretely, these communities united to adopt a shared long-term vision for waste management in northern regions.
On October 17, 2017, the Tricomm Ecocentre was officially inaugurated, following the commitment of the three communities. For the past eight years, this initiative has enabled the recycling of thousands of used tires, several hundred electronic devices, large amounts of paint, and many other hazardous materials.
Another coordinated effort led, in 2022, to the cleanup of six sites, including a major dump of burned vehicle carcasses near Key Lake.
In 2023, efforts focused on a site polluted for decades near Lake John, where car wrecks and scrap metal had been dumped in the river over the years. A 14-day operation removed the equivalent of 22 containers of scrap and used cars.
Since spring 2018, the three partners have also developed a community composting project. They saw in this practice an opportunity to reduce waste production in a remote area. By fall 2019, two composting stations were operational: one at the Tricomm Ecocentre for residents of Schefferville and Matimekush-Lac John, and the other near the public works garage in Kawawachikamach.
From October 13 to 16, 2023, around sixty people gathered for the first Environment Week organized by the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Sustainable Development Institute (FNQLSDI), in collaboration with the Innu Nation of Matimekush-Lac John.
This initiative helped inform and raise awareness among the population, but also created a safe space for exchange and sharing around water and environmental issues, including those related to mining. Several Elders, community members, and representatives from ministries and organizations participated in what turned out to be a resounding success.
