Around the North

Bad market conditions are being blamed for upcoming layoffs of as many as 400 employees as Essar Steel Algoma. The Sault Ste. Marie manufacturer of plate and sheet steel is calling the layoffs only temporary as notices went out in early December.

A legendary Northern Ontario aviator and resort owner has died. Richard 'Dick' Watson died Dec. 6 at Lady Dunn Health Centre in Wawa. He was 87. Watson was predeceased by his wife Edna and three siblings.

The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP) is hailing a new report by Greenpeace as a means of stimulating Northern Ontario's forestry industry, creating new green jobs, and preserving the ecological value of the Boreal Forest.

The National Association of Major Mail Users, which represents the business interests of the Canadian mailing industry's end users, has given Domtar a 2010 Environmental Award for its "Paper Because" campaign.

Municipalities in East Algoma are getting a financial helping hand from the province to better prepare themselves for the development of green energy projects.

The Toronto-based SkyPower Limited is preparing to begin construction work on a new 8.5-megawatt solar park project on Thunder Bay International Airport lands in early 2011.

Damage caused to St. Andrew Goldfields' Holt Mine during a late November incident has been repaired, allowing normal operations to resume. On Nov.

Work on municipal infrastructure for the City of Greater Sudbury has netted a pair of Ontario Public Works Association Project of the Year awards for R.V. Anderson Associates Limited. Based out of Toronto and with offices in Sudbury, R.V.

An open forum will be held for farmers in the Algoma district and those interested in pursuing agriculture opportunities in the goat market.

Lecours Lumber of Hearst was fined $50,000 for a violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act that caused injury to a worker in 2009. The company owns and operates a sawmill in Calstock. At a Nov.