Bisson saw this coming

Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson said Resolute Forest Production’s decision to shut down the Iroquois Falls mill is a really bad move.

He said this is not the first municipality to see such a fate has they seen similar situations in Smooth Rock Falls and in Northern Ontario in the last 10 years.

“Unfortunately, this could have been averted…,” Bisson said. “I seen this coming years ago and the government is to blame for this.”

He said about 5-6 years ago, the province was approached about Resolute’s wanting to transferring ownership of their power dams which the government allowed.

“We were all saying this was bad move,” Bisson said. “This will put the mill in jeopardy buy selling the dam and now having to buy the hydro.”

Bisson said Resolute announced they will close the mill as of February and will not let anyone buy it.

“There are things we need to do,” Bisson said. “If Resolute does not want to operate it then we need the government to step in.”

Richard Garneau, Resolute’s president and chief executive officer said in a media release the closure is due to the fact market conditions have had a major impact on their newsprint operations in both Ontario and Quebec, and the cost position of these operations has made them vulnerable to the structural decline in newsprint.

"There is another issue that cannot be ignored in these decisions: the ill-founded attacks of environmental activist groups. Their inaccurate and deceptive campaigning, which misrepresents the company's forest management practices, was also a factor…,” Garneau said.

Resolute said they understand the impact these decisions will have on employees, their families and local communities and will work with union representatives and government officials to respond to the needs of those affected.

Local management will also ensure that employees receive support, that the relevant conditions in the collective agreements are respected, and that as many employees as possible are transferred to other company facilities.

"The decision to rationalize our newsprint capacity was difficult, as we are mindful of the impact it will have on affected employees," Garneau said. "Resolute remains committed to customer service and to the delivery of high-quality products and will work closely with customers to continue to meet their needs."

Bisson said they don’t want to sell the mill because they don’t want to have any competition so they can control the market.  

“We need to find a way to help this community,” Bisson said.

Bisson said it has been done in the past where a similar closure was done last year in Fort Frances.

“Sarah Campbell, the NDP MPP for Kenora-Rainy River, put a lot of pressure to allow the heat to remain on.”

Bisson said the one difference in these two situations is that in Fort Frances they were prepared to sell whereas in Iroquois Falls the company does not want to sell.

“The government needs to step in and take its wood back,” Bisson said, “and to try to find a successor to restart the mill.”

Bisson said the mill is the only big employer in Iroquois Falls other than small business and bigger private sectors such as the hospital.

The fight for the mill to remain open and to save Iroquois Falls has just begun.

“We need to do what we can to step in and keep the mill open,” Bisson said.

Bisson said there's going to be a lot of questions asked at Queen's Park next week.

“We have to look at the decision of Resolute where they are saying they are not going to allow the mill to be heated past February and not interested in selling,” Bisson said. “Well, I'm sorry they don't own the trees. These are Crown resources and if we can find a successor employer we should have the ability to do that. I think the government has some questions to answer.”

Union representatives, the MP, MPP’s and others from the community will be meeting Monday to discuss their next steps.

“We will be meeting Monday to hash things out,” Peter Jones, local 90 union president at the mill said.