economy

As many as three potential buyers are emerging for Tembec's Pine Falls paper mill, but there don't appear to be solid offers for the struggling business.

On Wednesday, a former Tembec vice-president, J.P. Bradette, spoke to the mill's employees and the local chamber of commerce about his interest in purchasing the business.

"He (Bradette) was out to show that he is for real and he is serious and he's looking for support," said Ed Gassray, acting president of the Blue Water Chamber of Commerce. Bradette couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.

Tembec employees have also expressed interest in buying the plant, as has nearby Sagkeeng First Nation. But neither is close to making a formal offer.

Gassray said any potential buyer faces a big challenge, given a weak market for newsprint and a struggling North American economy. "If it was a strong market, it would be one thing. But when everything's weak it's a huge task," he said.

On Wednesday, the Manitoba Labour Board agreed to a union request to appoint an arbitrator to settle a contract between Tembec and the United Steelworkers union. The board's decision ended a four-and-a-half-month lockout involving more than 250 employees but the company has no intention of reopening the mill. The labour board's decision will, though, likely prompt the company to issue layoff notices, which will let workers apply for employment insurance benefits.

John Valley, a Tembec vice president designated to speak to the media about the Pine Falls operation, didn't return phone calls on Thursday.

Tembec announced during the lockout that the plant was up for sale. It said if a buyer wasn't found soon, the mill could be mothballed.

However, the union is still keen on having a new arbitrated contract in place for the future, said Cam Sokolowski, a mill employee and president of Steelworkers local 3-1375 at Pine Falls.

At the same time, Sokolowski said, the plant workers are also considering making an offer for the plant, although they're not very far in the process yet.

He claimed that Bradette is seeking union concessions as large or larger than those demanded by Tembec before the lockout Sept. 1. The Quebec-based forestry giant had proposed a 35 per cent cut in wages and benefits.

The union is working on an employee-based purchase plan that's "a little bit more viable for the employees," Sokolowski said.

Sagkeeng chief Donovan Fontaine said he told Tembec officials over Christmas that the band must be part of any group buying the mill, but he added he's still not convinced the band should buy it.

"That's the Catch-22," Fontaine said. "There isn't much time but we're still doing our due diligence."

Sagkeeng said with the dramatic decline in markets for the pulp and paper industry, any purchase of the mill has to have a plan that considers other markets and revenue streams.

Fontaine said Sagkeeng is actively working with the union, the community of Pine Falls and the province, adding he hopes a feasibility study will provide all the players with the right answers.

-- With files from Aldo Santin

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 15, 2010 A12

The creation of the proposed Fisher Bay Provincial Park is an ideal example of how placing natural areas under protection can create numerous benefits for local residents, surrounding communities and the whole province. These benefits include the creation of new wealth and significantly contribute to sustaining a healthy environment in the Fisher Bay area. The establishment of a provincial park creates employment; jobs such as park management and maintenance will help bring prosperity to local residents. Furthermore, provincial parks attract tourists. The money spent by tourists on eco and cultural-tourism goes well beyond park borders as travellers are likely to spend time in nearby communities.

By placing the Fisher Bay area under protection, the natural landscape can stay wild. Undisturbed natural landscapes are integral in keeping a healthy ecosystem as they filter water, stores carbon, produce oxygen and are home to numerous plants and animals.

ERIKA BLACKIE

Winnipeg

The Fisher River Cree Nation could see a net gain of $38 million annually if the province approves new boundaries for the proposed Fisher Bay Provincial Park, according to a study released by the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) last Thursday.

The study, conducted by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, a national non-profit First Nation-directed group, found Fisher River would lose more than $2 million in logging and guided hunting industry revenue through the park's creation, but would gain slightly less than $40 million through tourism spending, cottage and other ecological industries.

"The results of this study were more extreme than we expected," said Ron Thiessen, CPAWS Manitoba executive director. "The benefits of the provincial park, if it's designated as we've proposed, would be 18 times greater than if the area were harvested for logging, mining and non-Aboriginal hunting. That's a huge increase."

The report based its economic benefit estimates on an economic impact model for parks and protected areas and used Turtle Mountain Provincial Park to represent the Fisher Bay park in the study because of the areas' similarities.

Thiessen estimates the park would create more than 100 local jobs.

"They wouldn't be prone to the boom and bust of other industries like natural resource extraction," said Thiessen. "Eco and cultural tourism are dynamic industries with diverse benefits that outweigh their costs."

Fisher River has a 46-per-cent employment rate, according to the report. Of that, 10 per cent of jobs are in the fishing industry and 50 per cent are in local social services. The majority of the employed leave the community for other opportunities.

Chief David Crate estimates the eco and cultural tourism industry would provide the area with work for 12 to 15 years.

"We're in discussion with the Radisson Hecla Oasis Resort to link with their eco-tourism tours," said Crate. "The Leigh Cochrane Memorial Visitor Centre would coordinate a lot of it."

The province, at the Fisher River's request, created the Fisher Bay Park Reserve in 1999 to provide temporary protection to an approximately 89,000-hectare area, which is 70 per cent water and includes the Moose, Little Moose, Tamarack and other islands, shoals, reefs and adjacent mainland. The park's reserve status was renewed in 2005.

A year later, after analyzing the results of an Areas of Ecological Significance study, CPAWS and Fisher River requested the province designate the reserve a provincial park before it loses its protected status in 2010 and expand the park's proposed boundaries to include 160,000 hectares to protect more wetlands and boreal bogs. Earlier this year, CPAWS and Fisher River renewed that plea.

The province, which is currently consulting with local stakeholders and the public, could designate the reserve a provincial park as early as 2010. This latest economic study, commissioned by Fisher River and CPAWS, is part of that process.

The park would exclude potential treaty land entitlement selections by the Peguis First Nation and would likely raise the property value of the cottage development announced by Fisher River and the province Oct. 9, according to Thiessen.

"We commend the Manitoba government for moving forward on establishing the park," said Thiessen. "Now the challenge is to make sure it's designated according to the best ecological and cultural considerations rather than political lines."

Thiessen says the new park would be ideal for tourism because of its proximity to Winnipeg and prohibit industrial activities, except for commercial fishing, while respecting Aboriginal and Treaty Rights such as non-commercial traditional First Nations hunting and trapping.

"The reserve is part of the boreal forest, which is home to trees such as pine, poplar and birch; animals such as lynx, fox, caribou and the Piping Plover; bogs, lakes and rivers," said Thiessen. "It's also the largest terrestrial storehouse of carbon on the planet, which helps slow climate change. I congratulate Chief Crate and his council for their incredible vision to protect the land."

Crate thanked CPAWS and the public for supporting the park initiative.

"I was talking to an elder, Walter Sinclair, who's fished in the Fisher Bay area for more than 60 years, about the changes he's seen," said Crate. "He's seen the return of the eagle. They're nesting there now, which is good. We need to protect the area for the long-term future. Our community wants this park because it makes sense economically, ecologically, and culturally."

With the announced sale of the Tembec newsprint mill in Pine Falls, the Province of Manitoba will assist with the establishment of a community adjustment committee of workers and local leaders to work through economic challenges and opportunities facing the community, Labour and Immigration Minister Jennifer Howard announced today.

"The closure of the mill is a traumatic event for workers, their families and the community of Pine Falls," Howard said.  "We will do everything we can to help them cope with the impact."

Tembec announced today that it will put the mill up for sale.  The mill is the primary employer in the region.

"As well as working with the community to move forward, we are establishing a labour adjustment committee to help individual employees," Howard said.  "We are committed to working with the workers, the union and the company to help identify other employment opportunities."

The province will commit $1 million in support of activities and projects of the community adjustment committee.

Howard said Premier Greg Selinger will meet today with workers and area leaders to strike the committee and discuss options for support.

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WINNIPEG - The creation of a provincial park proposed around Fisher Bay would add $38 million to the Manitoba economy, according to a new study.

Conducted by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources, the study shows current industries in the area of Fisher River Cree Nation — logging, non-aboriginal hunting and mining — generate about $2.2 million annually for Manitoba’s economy.

An industry sustained by park management as well as ecological and cultural tourism would bring in about $40 million per year, the study concluded.

An area around the bay was granted interim protection by the province as a potential park site in 1999. A study done in 2006 recommended those boundaries be expanded "according to the best ecological and cultural considerations, rather than political lines," said Ron Thiessen, executive director of Manitoba’s chapter with the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society.

The most recent study, released today, examined the prospects of that broader area.

The province is in the midst of boundary considerations and has committed to establishing the park by October of next year.

jennifer.pawluk@freepress.mb.ca

Creating a new provincial park in Fisher Bay, Manitoba could provide a net gain of $38 million, says a new economic study released today at a press conference by CPAWS and Fisher River Cree Nation (FRCN).  The Manitoba government has committed to establishing the park by October, 2010, but its boundaries have not yet been determined.

The new independent study by the Centre for Indigenous Environmental Resources (CIER) says that the park, if it’s designed as proposed by Fisher River Cree Nation (FRCN) and the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS), could provide economic benefits 18 times greater than if the area were harvested by logging, mining, and non-Aboriginal hunting.

The new park would prohibit industrial activities while upholding and respecting all Aboriginal and Treaty Rights. Just two hours north of Winnipeg, Fisher Bay has an ideal location and majestic landscape; creation of a park in this area offers numerous sustainable economic opportunities for local communities.

“Our community wants this park because it makes sense economically, ecologically, and culturally,” says Fisher River’s Chief David Crate. “By keeping the area natural we will maintain traditional subsistence activities and provide more than 100 jobs through avenues such as park management and eco- and cultural tourism ventures.”

The Province has stated it will consult with local communities, stakeholders, and the public to determine the park’s boundaries. FRCN and CPAWS are proposing boundaries based on the results and analysis of an ecological study performed in the region.

“We commend the Manitoba government for moving forward on establishing the park,” says CPAWS Manitoba Executive Director Ron Thiessen. “Now the challenge is to make sure it is designed according to the best ecological and cultural considerations, rather than political lines.”

-30-

Fisher River's Chief David Crate - “By keeping the area natural we will maintain traditional subsistence activities and provide more than 100 jobs through avenues such as park management and eco- and cultural tourism ventures.”
CPAWS' Ron Thiessen - “We commend the Manitoba government for moving forward on establishing the park. Now the challenge is to make sure it is designed according to the best ecological and cultural considerations, rather than political lines.”

For more information:

Ron Thiessen – (204) 453-6346, (204) 794-4971, ron@cpawsmb.org

Chief David Crate – (204) 645-2171, (204) 781-8016, dcrate@mts.net

Angelique Xanthopolous (CIER) – axanthopolous@cier.ca

For more info about the proposed park including a map please go to - http://www.cpawsmb.org/conservation/fisherbay1.php

Please find Full Economic Study and Summary of Economic Study, attached below.