Develop hope

“In times of uncertainty, you have to try to create some sort of certainty. You have to continue to develop hope if good things are going to come in the future.”
Local Liberal candidate Anthony Leek was referring to the provincial budget unveiled last Thursday by Finance minister Charles Sousa, but his words may prove to be hauntingly prophetic much closer to home.
Fort Frances suffered a harsh blow back in November when Resolute Forest Products announced it was idling indefinitely the kraft mill and #5 paper machine here, resulting in some 239 people being thrown out of work. Despite the mill clearly being on life support, though, one got the sense the prevailing feeling was that it was all just a bad dream; that we would simply wake up and everything would be rosy again.
It is a nightmare, but unfortunately we are wide awake. And sadly, the prospect of a miracle cure seems to be diminishing with each passing week and instead there’s fear the plug is about to be pulled—as soon as early June.
In short, what was believed to be “unthinkable” not so long ago is hovering at our doorstep.
We’ve long known the dangers of being a one-industry town, particularly one that’s historically cyclical in nature. But despite efforts to broaden our economic base, there never seemed to be a sense of urgency. It was as if we basked in the false comfort of knowing the mill always would be there, so there always was time.
Well, time may have run out.
Clinging to hope the worst-case scenario won’t come to pass isn’t the answer. Rather, we must develop hope that good things are going to come.
The future of our community depends on it—and urgently.