TERRACE BAY — If the mill building in Terrace Bay isn’t heated this winter, “it’s pretty well done.”
That’s according to Stephen Downey, who worked as a millwright at the AV Terrace Bay-owned pulp mill until the company halted production in early 2024. Downey was also the union local president for the Steelworkers union.
“We knew the first year they went down, because we were already in January, that they were going to maintain the heat,” he said. “Last year, it was maintained to about three degrees, so a lot of the mill did freeze up already.”
“This year … rather than use a boiler, they were going to use electric heaters to try to heat the place.”
Terrace Bay Mayor Paul Malashewski told Newswatch that the company “has indicated to us that they weren’t going to heat the mill and they’re looking for government help to heat the mill.”
“I’ve talked with the (provincial) government about assisting, and obviously, there hasn’t been a positive response yet.”
The mill’s future was raised at Queen’s Park this week, with Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Lise Vaugeois asking whether the Ford government would pay to keep the building heated. Natural Resources Minister Mike Harris didn’t directly answer the question — stating that “we’re currently evaluating all options when it comes to AV Terrace Bay.”
“We’re going to continue to work with the community. We’re going to continue to work with stakeholders and make sure that we do the right thing by northern Ontario,” he said in the legislature.
Turning off the heat “(puts) equipment at risk of freezing and (raises) serious concerns about toxic leaks and environmental harm,” the NDP’s Vaugeois was quoted as saying in a media release issued by the party on Wednesday.
The release also criticized the government for not prioritizing the north’s forestry industry.
“Across the north, existing mills that anchor local economies are struggling without the basic funding needed to modernize, operate safely and carry out essential winter maintenance,” New Democrat Mushkegowuk-James Bay MPP Guy Bourgouin stated in the release.
At Queen’s Park, Harris said his ministry works with the environment ministry and the company to ensure environmental standards are being followed and that the province works to make sure investments are being upheld.
Newswatch has requested comment from Aditya Birla — AV Terrace Bay is part of that group of companies.
The company “has to step up and inform the people what their intentions are,” Malashewski said. “They’ve been pretty quiet.”
“They’re not letting us know anything.”
The idling of the mill put about 400 people out of work. A number of those have found employment in the mining sector around the region, Malashewski and Downey said.
“We’re going on two years,” Downey said. “Anybody who’s had to get up and go has got up and gone. I’m sure … some of the past employees will go back if the place reopens just to be back in town again.”
“But other than that, people have found their footprint in the mining industry.”
Malashewski said he and those in the community remain “hopeful” the mill will restart, either by the current owners or someone else.
“I mean, the government is doing what they can do, as far as what we can see,” he said. “We’ve talked to four different ministers in the last couple of years now and they said they’re committed to seeing something done.”
