NEWS RELEASE
PETER POLITIS, COCHRANE MAYOR
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Yesterday, Resolute Forest Products announced that the Mill in Iroquois Falls would be permanently closing on December 22, 2014.
The facility that once employed over 1,200 people was not only the backbone of the local community’s economy, but an integral part of the entire region’s economy.
While the workforce had been systematically reduced to less than 200 people over the years, it remains the community’s largest employer and an important part of its viability.
As northerners, we all feel the pain when our brothers and sisters in other communities are faced with such devastating news.
As an entire race of people our way of life depends on our ability to preserve the fundamentals that make it what it is.
We’re very proud of the environmentally sustainable natural resource economy that forms the foundation for our families and our way of life, that is renowned around the world.
When all of the science and facts are suggesting we should be growing the forest industry, as the provinces around us are, for some reason we are seeing it shrink around us instead.
Our first thoughts are with our friends in Iroquois Falls as they go through this trying situation.
I’ve spoken to Mayor Shea and offered our support.
The families in Iroquois Falls can count on their friends in Cochrane to be there in whatever way we can.
This is not just an Iroquois Falls challenge.
The forest industry is an intricate web of synergies and when you pull out such a significant wood supply, the chain of reaction will be felt across the province.
Each impact will create an adjustment and it will be the outliers who feel the final pinch.
I’ve spoken to Kapuskasing Mayor Al Spacek, who heads the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities and who has been on this from the announcement.
He is doing the necessary recognizance to get a clear understanding of what the realities are.
Once he has that, we will all come together to begin ascertaining the reaction going forward.
Locally here in Cochrane, we could either see a negative or positive impact, depending on how the aforementioned intricacies pan out.
During a paradigm shift like this, one can either accept the outcome, or look toward the future and seek the opportunities.
We will need to be both diligent and intelligent as we move forward together through this new challenge.
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