Ripple effect

Fort Frances has been fortunate so far to have been spared the worst of the forest industry crisis that has affected so many other communities across the region.
But news last week that Buchanan Forest Products is shutting down four sawmills, including Atikokan Forest Products in Sapawe, until late January at the earliest, throwing some 800 people out of work, clearly shows what happens elsewhere can have a definite impact locally.
Roger Langevin Trucking of Devlin, for instance, plans to close its doors for good in the wake of the Buchanan announcement. And Doug Kitowski Trucking, based here in Fort Frances, is now wondering where to turn to pick up the slack for the sawdust and shavings it has been shipping into the U.S.
The local AbitibiBowater mill also has to look to other sources for its supply of wood chips in the interim, which leaves other businesses, such as Peterbilt Fort Frances, having to adopt a “wait-and-see” approach on what impact the sawmill shutdowns will have on them down the road.
In this case, it’s the high-flying loonie and downturn in the U.S. economy that’s prompted Buchanan’s move—not to mention Domtar idling its fine paper mill in Dryden on Saturday for an “indefinite” period. But whatever the reason for all the closures and shutdowns of late, there’s no question the forest industry is on life support these days.
That, in turn, is having a depressing effect on the whole region’s economy.
So what’s the solution? Is it up to the federal and provincial governments, as some argue, to save the industry, whether by controlling the rise of the dollar or cutting corporate taxes, or reducing the hydro rate mills pay?
Or as others believe, given our changing world and the global marketplace, is money and efforts better spent attracting new industries and entrepreneurs to the region so there’s well-paying jobs to keep people from streaming out west?
The only things clear is that time has all but run out to do something—and that Fort Frances had better not believe it’s immune from the ripple effect of a flagging region.