Cariboo Gold Project: The Great Cariboo Shift.
SERIES ONE: WELLS AT A TURNING POINT
A record of how a major project entered a small valley and reshaped its future
By Caroline AndersIntroduction
Wells is small and every shift leaves a trace. Even subtle changes travel through the community fast. Over the past few years, the tone of the valley tightened in ways that were hard to ignore. A large mining project, the Cariboo Gold Project, moved from early presentations into steps residents could see on the ground. Meetings sounded different. Pressures grew. Conversations about the future held more caution than confidence. None of this arrived in one moment. It was built layer by layer and settled into daily life.
Wells deserves growth that honours the people who live here, not a version of progress defined only by those who profit from major projects. Industrial activity has real effects, and those effects shape the future of this town. That reality should not be dismissed. Wells has experienced uneven outcomes before, and those experiences inform how people respond now. Wells was built on gold, but gold alone did not sustain it. People did. Tourism did. Nature did. The arts did. The town’s resilience came from a mix of economies and identities rather than reliance on a single industry. That balance carried Wells through quiet years and busy ones, and it remains worth protecting. When tourism weakens, housing becomes harder to access, grants tighten, and land-use decisions shift to meet external priorities; impacts compound quickly. Communities can move from self-sufficiency toward dependence. People become more cautious about speaking openly. The conditions that allow residents and industry to coexist begin to erode.
The Cariboo Gold Project, operated by Osisko Development, exists within a broader context of resource development in British Columbia and rural communities. Projects of this scale do not occur in isolation. They unfold within long histories of land tenure, corporate ownership, regulatory frameworks, and shifting partnerships. Examining other mining projects across the province provides context for understanding how similar pressures have emerged elsewhere and how past decisions shape present expectations.
Osisko Development’s record sits within this broader landscape. Its subsidiary, Barkerville Gold Mines, received an administrative penalty in 2024 related to repeated wastewater permit violations associated with long-term discharges into Lowhee Creek. The company later issued a public statement indicating steps had been taken to address the issues. The penalty highlights how environmental impacts can accumulate over time when oversight and enforcement lag behind project activity. The Xat’sūll First Nation has also raised legal concerns regarding the Cariboo Gold Project’s footprint and decision-making processes, underscoring how project relationships extend beyond geology into trust, communication, and land rights.
WHAT OSISKO’S RECORD SUGGESTS, AND WHY THE CARIBOO IS PAYING ATTENTION
When examining large-scale resource projects operated by companies like Osisko, recurring patterns appear across multiple regions. Large projects often arrive with promises of economic benefit, yet the effects experienced by nearby communities vary widely. Work camps may be established. Labour may be brought in from outside the region. Traffic volumes increase on already limited transportation corridors, including Highway 26. Housing markets shift. Tourism faces new pressures. Planning priorities evolve to align with project timelines, and rezoning decisions can precede physical construction by years.
Similar sequences have been documented in other regions.
At Canadian Malartic in Quebec, an open-pit mine was developed adjacent to an existing town. Zoning changed, land parcels were assembled, and homes were relocated. Streets and infrastructure were redesigned to accommodate industrial activity. Noise, dust, blasting, and service strain became part of daily life. These changes unfolded alongside mining development and reshaped the community in real time.
At Windfall in the Urban–Barry region, extensive land claims and access corridors were secured early. Road construction, camp placement, and rising land values occurred well before extraction began. Regional planning decisions increasingly reflected anticipated industrial use, and communities experienced pressure years before mining moved beyond the proposal stage.
At Quévillon, large areas of land surrounding a small town were consolidated over time. Zoning and land-use decisions shifted in stages, gradually favouring industrial priorities rather than local planning goals. Tourism, small businesses, and residential stability were affected, and uncertainty persisted for decades as planning frameworks continued to evolve.
Across these locations, similar sequences emerge. Land consolidation occurs early. Planning and permitting frameworks shift over time. Camps are established before sustained local employment materializes. Housing, transportation, and tourism absorb pressure long before long-term benefits are realized. These outcomes emerge through the interaction of corporate proposals, municipal decision-making, and provincial regulatory processes, often placing strain on small communities with limited capacity.
Viewed within this broader context, questions raised in Wells reflect informed concern rather than opposition to development. Residents are observing land-use changes, zoning adjustments, infrastructure pressures, and housing impacts as they unfold. They are drawing on regional history and experience to understand what these early signals may indicate.
This region has lived through cycles of rapid change before. It understands the cost of decisions made without full transparency or long-term consideration. The questions being raised are not alarmist. They are grounded in experience and informed by precedent.
Residents are not asking these questions in isolation. Local groups, community members, and individuals who have tracked this project for years have raised sustained concerns related to long-term stability and community capacity. Their work forms part of the foundation for this record. My aim is not to replace those efforts or speak over them, but to document the systems surrounding the project, organize publicly available information, and place local experience within a wider provincial context.
I began this four-part series to understand how the project took shape and why pressure in town increased so steadily. This work draws from public records, including council minutes, staff reports, environmental filings, technical summaries, maps, and District communications. Attention has been paid to how information moved between the District, industry, and residents, and how key issues were framed or left unresolved. This is not an exposé. It is a structured record compiled from public materials and lived experience, intended to provide residents with a clear and steady view of what has taken shape and to inform my own understanding.
To address remaining gaps, I am submitting targeted Freedom of Information requests focused on timelines, correspondence, agreements, and decision pathways that shaped the project’s entry. These requests are standard tools for understanding public decision-making. As documents are released, they will inform later parts of this series and add clarity to how planning and communication unfolded.
This is not an exposé. It is a structured record compiled from public materials and lived experience, intended to provide residents with a clear and steady view of what has taken shape and to inform my own understanding.
WHAT THIS SERIES COVERS
Part One traces early decisions, planning history, and conditions that shaped the current moment.
Part Two examines permits, timelines, and the transition from planning language to physical activity in the valley.
Part Three examines how daily life absorbed pressure across various sectors, including tourism, housing, local work, community spaces, and the arts.
Part Four looks ahead, placing Wells within broader patterns experienced by other resource towns and exploring questions of resilience, long-term planning, and community response.
The goal is clarity. A steady view of what has unfolded, what new information reveals, and what the public record suggests about possible next steps.
Resources
• Individual and Social Effects of Changes Related to the Canadian Malartic Mine (by Quebec’s Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux) — examines how residents of Malartic, Quebec experienced impacts from the open-pit mine.
Individual and Social Effects of Changes Related to the Canadian Malartic Mine
• Breaking Cycles of Harm in Canada’s Mining Communities (by MiningWatch Canada) — discusses Osisko’s role in the Malartic project and its community effects.
Breaking Cycles of Harm in Canada’s Mining Communities
• Osisko’s own 2020 Sustainable Development Report — covers the projects at Windfall, Quévillon and Urban Barry, including community relations, procurement, local spending and First Nations involvement.
Osisko’s “Community Relations & Socio-Economic Development
• Osisko’s “Community Relations & Socio-Economic Development” page — outlines how they claim to engage with local communities, procure locally, train workers (especially First Nations) etc.
Project file for the Windfall Project (Québec)
• Project file for the Windfall Project (Québec) — includes detail about claims, location, mining camp size, environmental assessment steps.
The Wikipedia entry for Malartic –
• The Wikipedia entry for Malartic – gives background detail on how the town and mine interacted, including relocation of houses and large scale change.
