My question yesterday, calling on the Premier to act now to help get the Fort Frances mill going again. NDP DEMANDS PREMIERS SUPPORT FOR FORT FRANCES MILL Queen’s Park – Today Sarah Campbell, NDP MPP for Kenora-Rainy River, called on the Premier to support the people of Fort Frances by ensuring their local kraft mill can open again by approving an Enhanced Sustainable Forestry License for the town. “In a recent letter to the Town of Fort Frances, the Premier wrote that her government is ‘committed to the forest industry and to preserving and creating jobs in Northern Ontario’,” Campbell said. “What is the Premier ready to do to help the people of Fort Frances and ensure the mill can get up and running?” Campbell said that the closure of the local Fort Frances mill devastated the town, but that there was new hope with Expera, a company that was looking to buy the mill and create jobs. “Getting the mill up and running could mean 200 direct and 1000 spinoff jobs, as well as a $100 million annual injection into the economy,” Campbell said. “But Expera, keeps running up against major challenges that the Town of Fort Frances knows the provincial government can solve.” Campbell explained that the Crossroute forest is one of the most productive forests in Ontario, but the forest is in the hands of company that wont guarantee the prospective buyer, Expera, the cost competitive fibre it needs to run the mill. “The Town of Fort Frances has asked for a seat at the table to ensure that its local forest can create jobs in Fort Frances, as part of an Enhanced Sustainable Forestry License. With the stroke of a pen, the government can ensure that Fort Frances has a role in managing its own forests so that there is enough fibre to run the mill,” Campbell said. “Will the Premier listen to the town of Fort Frances and First Nations and instruct her Minister of Natural Resources to approve an Enhanced Sustainable Forestry License for the town of Fort Frances?” Despite Expera expressing it is no longer pursuing the purchase of the mill because of provincial roadblocks, the Premier did not answer Campbell’s questions, instead passing them to the Minister of Natural Resources who in turn refused to take responsibility for failing to provide the Enhanced Sustainable Forestry License. -30-
Posted on: Tue, 04 Nov 2014 20:34:29 +0000
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