Staff
It was an eventful day at Queen’s Park yesterday.
At a press conference in the media room there, Fort Frances Mayor Roy Avis, along with Chiefs Sara Mainville and Patricia Big George, all made the case in front of the cameras to transfer the operation of the Crossroute Forest away from Resolute and begin the process of creating a community-based Enhanced Sustainable Forest operated by the communities, harvesters, and users of the wood fibre.
All three kept reiterating the fact that Ontario, and the citizens of Rainy River District, would benefit from a $100-million investment by Expera Specialty Products—and the 200 direct jobs and the up to 800 forest-related jobs that would be generated.
They called on the government to notify Expera that they would find—and dedicate—affordable fibre from the Crossroute Forest to restart the Fort Frances mill.
Perhaps the most dramatic argument came from 13-year old Mira Donaldson, who spoke about the importance of jobs to the community.
She spoke emotionally about friends whose families are separated as one parent travels for two weeks for work out west, and families that have been forced to relocate away from the community.
On Monday evening, following the three-hour flight to Toronto aboard a chartered Dash 8, several members of the group met with local MPP Sarah Campbell and members of the NDP caucus to present their arguments to change the Liberal government’s position on the Crossroute Forest.
The caucus was well-briefed on the Resolute file—and that became evident during Question Period on Tuesday.
Other members of the delegation, meanwhile, met with members of the Conservative caucus.
While those two groups were meeting Monday evening, other members of the delegation were blanketing the light posts around Queen’s Park with posters stating “Our Forests, Our Future–Premier Wynne and Resolute CEO Garneau you took our jobs–Give us back our trees.”
The posters greeted walkers heading to work and business at Queen’s Park early Tuesday morning.
While the press conference with Rainy River District delegation was set for 9 a.m. (EST) on Tuesday, Premier Wynne called a special news conference in her office trying to divert reporters away from the district delegation.
During Question Period, both opposition parties introduced the district delegation. Campbell recognized in the
legislature every person from the delegation, which brought a strong round of applause from all members of the Legislature.
The Conservatives led off Question Period and on the third redirect question by Vic Fedeli from Nipissing, he directly asked the premier to meet with the delegation of chiefs and mayors from Rainy River District to change the operation of the Crossroute Forest to try and facilitate the sale of the kraft mill here to Expera Specialty Products from Resolute Forest Products.
The premier appeared well-briefed on the file and deftly diverted the question as being a business-to-business process.
Even with Anthony Leek, the past Liberal candidate here in Kenora-Rainy River riding, asking for a meeting, the premier stood her ground and denied anyone from the region a meeting with her.
Following Fedeli’s question, NDP leader Andrea Horwath piled on the questioning of the premier and Natural Resources and Forestry minister Bill Mauro to change the operation of the Crossroute Forest.
He, too, deflected the questions, arguing that an Enhanced Sustainable Forest Licence would not work since it would take too long to establish.
Campbell then challenged Mauro that with the stroke of a pen, he could cancel the licence with Resolute and that it could be done on this very day.
He merely revisited his argument that an ESFL would not solve the problem with wood and an agreement between the two parties.
Mauro also indicated that more than 700,000 cubic metres of wood had been offered up to Expera. Part of the issue has been the cost of the fibre to Expera.
No mention was made whether or not the fibre would be affordable.
Following Question Period, Chiefs Mainville and Big George, Leek, Fort Frances CAO Mark McCaig, Coun. John Albanese, and Mike Willick, the Town of Fort Frances’ forestry consultant, met with both Mauro and Northern Development and Mines minister Michael Gravelle to talk about fibre and restarting negotiations between Resolute and Expera.
The delegation was able to show to the two ministers information about the forest that Mauro seemed unaware of.
They made forceful arguments that showed the movement of wood to Thunder Bay was not creating any employment in the Fort Frances area.
Chief Mainville, at the conclusion of the meeting, told the two ministers that she was excited to be working with Expera, a company that is active in the communities in which it operates, has progressive work policies, and had spent a great deal of time with the First Nations of Rainy River District.
She hoped the minister would understand that her community would prefer to work with Expera.
Her remarks summed up the goals of the delegation at the meeting.
