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Poverty and Unsanitary Conditions

Probably taken from the roof of a building, a black and white photograph of a gravel road lined with wooden log and plank buildings. A forest is visible in the background.

Roc-d´Or’s main street, circa 1942 (BAnQ Québec, ministère de la Culture et des Communications fonds).

Roc-d’Or’s poverty and unsanitary conditions troubled the government investigators – much more than the illicit businesses. Several quotes underscore their reactions during their 1942 visit. Some homes were so filthy “that, next to them, an ordinary well-kept pigsty would look clean”. These homes “are meant for demolition. Or, better yet, to burnt down due to the vermin therein.”

Black and white photograph of a pipe coming out of a building covered with tar paper and spilling its contents onto wooden planks. In the background, a pile of wood.

For lack of a sewer system, sewage is spread on the ground circa 1942 (BAnQ Québec, ministère de la Culture et des Communications fonds).

Not only did the dilapidated dwellings lack running water and sewers. But they were often overcrowded. The sordid living conditions urged the investigators to write: “The majority of the children living in these slums […] are now stupid and dazed. And [without government intervention, would be] destined for the asylum or penitentiaries.”

Black and white photograph of a sand pit filled with rusted car bodies and a variety of waste. In the background, several residences behind a fence.

Waste piling up in several places in the village around 1942 (BAnQ Québec, ministère de la Culture et des Communications fonds).

It’s possible that incorporation or annexation to Malartic could have solved Roc-d’Or’s prostitution problem. But, the investigators believed it would do nothing to erase poverty and misery. What’s more, building sewer and water systems to improve their situation would be too expensive for squatters’ limited means.

A black and white photograph of a rudimentary log cabin that is collapsing. In the background, other buildings that are similar, but in better condition.

Dwelling of an immigrant from Poland in 1942 (BAnQ Québec, ministère de la Culture et des Communications fonds).

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