The situation in Fort St. James is all too familiar according to Doug Donaldson, the province’s Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development.
“I witnessed the stress that puts on the workers and their families,” Donaldson told MyPGNow reminiscing back on the sawmill closure in the Hazeltons in the early 2000s. “What we want to do is take action, and we are taking action to try to bring provincial government resources in order to help the workers.”
Earlier this week, the mayor of Fort St. James, Bev Playfair, announced a local financial crisis following the closure of the Conifex Sawmill, which has left 226 district employees out of work.
The declaration, which will stay in place for 30 days from Wednesday, is to alert the provincial and federal governments to the serious implications the closure could have on their community.
Minister Donaldson did admit that he has intentions of making a trip to the Northern Interior, which will include a stop in Fort St. James.
“I am looking at my schedule in August. I don’t have a specific date for Fort St. James, but between Fort St. James and Clearwater, we know those are two communities involved in the Tenure Transfer Process, so those are a high priority for me to get to.”
Fort St. James has a population of around 1600, and neighbouring Nak’azdli Whut’en First Nation has about the same. Playfair said the economies of both will be severely affected if action isn’t taken now.
“We need help to find some funding for job opportunities so we can put some of these people to work and keep them in the community,” said Playfair. “This totally impacts the daily lives of all of the employees, their families, licensees, and contractors and we have heartfelt thoughts and compassion going out to all these people that are out of work.”
Conifex announced last month that they plan to sell the sawmill to Hampton Lumber for $39 million.
“I have had staff in constant contact with the local First Nations, municipality, and worker’s organizations because this is a situation that is covered by Bill 22, the new legislation that we brought in that gives a say over the transfer of tenures when two licensees are proposing a sale,” said Donaldson. “We brought that legislation forward to ensure that public interest considerations are at the forefront of those proposals and that those proposals have to be approved by me.”
Playfair said there have been curtailments at the mill since early December, and some people will be running out of unemployment insurance soon.
“The government needs to acknowledge that we need some money, we’re working tirelessly with the feds and the provincial government to address the impacts and seek support,” said Playfair.
Minister Donaldson states he understands the immediate response that Playfair is expecting for Fort St. James.
“I do recognize it as a top priority. I’ve told our staff to treat this situation the same as they would approach a natural disaster such as a wildfire in order to have that high level of response and attention.”
Both Playfair and Donaldson have acknowledged a job fair for members of the community, which will be held on July 31, from 10:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at Kwah Hall.
With files from Cole Kelly, MyPGNow