TORONTO, Ont. -- If the Fort Frances Mill can be saved then the province needs to act now, acknowledges Ontario’s Minister of Natural Resources.
“Timelines are tight and we need to ensure the building is heated. If it is not there will be no value there for anybody,” Bill Mauro said in response to questions from reporters outside Queen’s Park on Tuesday.
“I’m open to exploring whatever is possible. I would say this will be the subject of further discussions with the company that owns the mill, that being Resolute, and seeing what between the two of us we are able to work out.”
During Question Period MPP Sarah Campbell (NDP, Kenora Rainy-River) pressed Mauro and the Liberal-led provincial government for a commitment to heat the mill throughout the winter.
Heating the mill would extend the timeline for Resolute Forest Products to sell the mill.
“There is a deal to be struck that would create and save 1,000 jobs in the Rainy River District. The people of Fort Frances don’t need $300-million, we just need $5-million to save the mill from being destroyed this winter so we can finalize a plan to keep the mill open,” she told the legislature.
Mauro, who is the MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan, disputed her assertion that a sale is imminent.
“I think it is a bit disingenuous for (Campbell) to get on her feet and suggest with some certainty there is a deal to be done here. There is no guarantee a deal can be done here,” he responded, before being asked by the Speaker to withdraw the remarks.
He continued that it’s not fair to the community to make it seem like a sale would be a sure thing.
“I think it is unfortunate language to somehow be conveying to the people of Fort Frances that there is some guarantee of a deal to be done, as it is unfortunate to convey to the people of Fort Frances that with a stroke of a pen we could have fixed this particular deal,” Mauro said.
Talks of a potential sale of the mill, along with the acquisition of wood fibres, from Resolute to Expera Specialty Solutions broke down within the past month.
Opposition parties have blamed the governing Liberals for their licensing regulations, making it difficult for Expera to access the area wood supply.
Mauro told reporters Expera has since purchased a mill in Maine, though the company has indicated they may still have some interest in Fort Frances.
