Peggy Revell
Anger, outrage, and a call for the federal government to take action were expressed as more than 40 people attended an emergency town hall meeting on the forestry crisis and AbitibiBowater bankruptcy hosted by Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP John Rafferty yesterday evening at La Place Rendez-Vous
“We’d like to hear stories, but also solutions,” Rafferty told those on hand.
“You’re all on the ground floor here, you probably wake up in the middle of the night with solutions, so let’s have a wide-open discussion and feel free to speak your mind,” he added.
Mill workers, pensioners, small business owners, and members of the public stepped forward to speak on their concerns and what they see needs to be done.
For many of the smaller businesses, who currently are unsecured creditors of AbitibiBowater, it was the need to simply get paid so they, in turn, can pay their own bills and avoid bankruptcy.
“What we need is what we’re owed,” stated one small business owner to applause from the audience.
Many of those speaking noted that to get the credit needed to keep their businesses running, they were having to risk not just their businesses but everything the own—even their family home—to keep afloat.
Many also expressed frustration the federal government continually has ignored the forestry sector while others, such as the auto industry, have received attention and support.
“It’s devastating to watch normal and everyday people lose their life savings,” said retired mill worker Alan Bedard, who also garnered applause at the end of his speech.
“[To] watch workers that have worked for years lose their pensions and their retirements, and a CEO—before they file for bankruptcy—takes their money out, takes their incentive pay out, takes all their pension out, and then steps back and looks at the government for more money, coming out of the taxpayers’ pocket that are you and I.”
Another issue brought up last night was the so-called “black liquor” tax credit in the United States, whereby if mills burn an alternate fuel, they’re eligible for a cheque from the government.
A loophole in this law has meant some U.S. paper mills have been adding diesel fuel to black liquor (a by-product of the pulping process) and then claim that it’s an alternative fuel and collect millions from the American government, Rafferty explained.
Following a similar town hall meeting scheduled for tonight Thunder Bay, Rafferty said he will be taking the public concerns back to the House of Commons in Ottawa.
A DVD version of the town hall meetings also is being created for distribution to MPs, the media, and public so they can see first-hand what concerns people brought forward.
