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Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec (Canada)

image by Ivan Sache, 22 July 2012
Based on: http://airrally.com/2/story_2009_01.htm

Description of the flag

See also:

Description of the flag

The municipality of Havre-Saint-Pierre (3,150 inhabitants in 2006; 2,822 sq. km) is located in the Minganie MRC (seated there), facing the Anticosti Island. The place was settled in 1857 by six Acadian fisher's families from the Magdalen Islands. The parish of Saint-Pierre-de-la-Pointe-aux-Esquimaux was established in 1872, the municipality of the same name being established the next year. The place was locally known, more simply, as Pointe-aux-Esquimaux, recalling that a group of Inuit once lived there. The municipality was renamed Havre-Saint-Pierre in 1927, referring to the harbour made by several long islets, originally known as Rade des Esquimaux (1735) and Navre des Esquimaux (1870), and to the fishers' patron saint, St. Peter. The first mass was celebrated in the place by Father Charles Arnaud on 29 June (St. Peter's Day) 1857.

The flag of Havre-Saint-Pierre is white with the municipal coat of arms in the middle:
http://airrally.com/2/story_2009_01.htm - Photo, 10 August 2009
http://airrally.com/_IMG/_STORY/2009_rally/_SMALL/part06_032_AUG10.jpg

The coat of arms of Havre-Saint-Pierre is quartered yellow-blue by a thin red cross, representing faith. Blue represent sea, yellow represents the sun, and green represents flora. The first quarter is charged with a shovel and pickaxe crossed per saltire, representing the local iron and titanium mine*. The second quarter is charged with a white orignal and black birds, representing hunting. The third quarter is charged with a white fish, representing fishing. The fourth quarter is charged with the "bonne femme"** against a background of green trees, representing the natural environment. The chief of the shield is superimposed with a white scroll inscribed in black letters "TERRE DIGNE DE RICHESSES" (Land Worth Resources). The motto expresses the inhabitant's pride for all these resources. The base of the shield is superimposed a white scroll inscribed in black letters "HAVRE-SAINT-PIERRE". The ends of the scroll support the wild berries from the local plains known as "chicoutai" or "plaquebière"***.
http://www.havresaintpierre.com/fr/s.php?s=565042668&sn=armoiries - Municipal website

*The Tio aboveground mine, located 40 km of Havre-Saint-Pierre, has been exploited since 1950 by the "Rio Tinto" mining group (under the "Rio Tinto, Fer et Titane" commercial brand). The mine includes the world's biggest known deposit of ilmenite, a crystalline iron titanium oxide (FeTiO₃). The mine is expected to be exploited for at least the next 50 years.

**The "bonne femme" (woman) is part of a group of monoliths standing on the Niapiscau island, Mingan archipelago. Different local stories explain that a beautiful but nasty girl was changed into a stone statue by the devil.
http://www.aqua-bio.net/Voyages/Minganie/imagepages/image13.html - Photo

***Cloudberry, Rubus chamaemorus L.

Ivan Sache, 22 July 2012