As the Paper Excellence mill in the District of Mackenzie goes into indefinite curtailment, the community is left with questions.
The mill is the largest employer for the small forestry town, now slated to operate until the end of June.
The curtailment affects 253 employees, however, the 182 Unifor Local 1092 members will be kept on payroll through August 6.
Mackenzie Mayor Joan Atkinson has said this latest closure will mean all three major employers in the town have shut their doors.
Conifex Timber has curtailed its sawmill since mid-April due to COVID-19 and Canfor’s sawmill has been on an indefinite curtailment since July 2019.
“Now, with the indefinite curtailment of the Paper Excellence Mill it means that there are approximately 700 unemployed mill workers in this community, that’s the direct jobs. Of course, there are going to be implications with the industries that support the forestry industry.”
In a community of about 3,700 with a workforce of about 2,000, and losing between 700 to 800 jobs, that works out to just under 19 percent of their population.
“It’s a huge blow to everyone,” said Atkinson. “I think everything has lined up against us.”
“Harvesting continues to happen in the Mackenzie timber supply area but those logs are being moved out to mills that do not have processing facilities in our community. The community is very upset.”
The town has worked hard to minimize impacts but if there isn’t enough work, that’s when you see people start to leave, Atkinson says.
“We went through this exact scenario in 2008 and 2009, we lost tax money. It took us three or four years to get back to pre-curtailment days in (those) closures.”
“Right now, with all three mills in indefinite curtailment, it’s hard to plan when you have no idea if Canfor or Paper Excellence will ever resume operations in this community,” she added.
Meanwhile, Conifex has notified the community of a possible return date, hoping to be back by July 6.
It announced a two-week curtailment back in April but it has since been extended several times, Atkinson adds.
“We have been through this before. We have the opportunity to come back.”
“But, what that comeback will look like and when it will actually happen, that’s something I do not know.”
Unifor recently issued a statement calling for the Federal and Provincial governments to intervene, however, Atkinson has made it clear Mackenzie wants a sustainable, long-term solution.
“We don’t want handouts from the government, we want jobs. We want a secure industry and some longevity to this community. We want this up and down cycle every ten years to end,” she said.
The Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations has revealed plans to reach out to Unifor and Paper Excellence to determine what supports are needed moving forward according to a statement issued Friday.