The temporary shutdown of the Domtar mill in White River may be a major blow to the community, but it can also be an opportunity to develop new economic development initiatives, says Norm Jaehrling.
Jaehrling is the chair and co-ordinator of the White River/Pic Mobert Community Adjustment Committee. The committee is the product of co-operation between the Township of White River and Pic Mobert First Nation to bring together their individual communities’ economic development programs. Both communities are in northwestern Ontario, approximately 90 kilometres from Wawa.
“We are pleased to be working with our neighbours in White River in economic development,” says Pic Mobert Chief John Kwissiwa. “We share many economic, social and family ties and this effort is a logical extension of these.”
“We’ve talked about doing this for some time,” says White River Mayor Angelo Bazzoni. “The changes at Domtar provided the nudge that we needed to come together.”
The committee was formed more than a month and a half ago, partially in response to ongoing layoffs at the local Domtar mill. Jaehrling says the most recent announcement by Domtar that production at the mill will shut down for six months to a year has added extra impetus. More than 200 people in the community are affected by the shutdown.
A labour adjustment committee has been established, with the goal of providing services and support for laid off workers.
“It’s a serious situation and we wouldn’t paint it as anything else,” says Jaehrling. “You’ve got to use it as a positive, somehow. If nothing else, it kind of jogs everybody and may be able to create some special attention that we can take advantage of.”
Pic Mobert First Nation and White River combined have a population of over 1,200 with many jobs relying directly and indirectly on the mill, Jaehrling says.
“Both communities have done quite a bit of work and have quite a number of initiatives that they’ve identified that are at various stages of development,” says Jaehrling.
Several ideas have “floated to the top” as initiatives that are worth pursuing, he says. They include trail development by improving linkages to the TransCanada hiking trail and snowmobile trails and the development of “loop” trails that will bring hikers and snowmobilers into the community.
White River’s tourism development plans have also included the creation of a tourism interpretive centre connected with the Winnie the Pooh theme park. Jaehrling says that the project could also have a First Nations connection.
There has also been discussion of co-operation between the two communities in energy-sector development, including finding ways to maintain the long-term viability of the wood-fired privately-owned cogeneration plant located in the White River community. The plant uses wood waste from local milling operations to create electricity.
The Pic Mobert First Nations also has rights for the development of power generation sites on the White River, representing a $50-million investment in the community. The main stumbling block to the project, says Jaehrling, is the lack of power purchasing agreements in Ontario.
“There has been talk of collaborating on an approach to get the government to pilot some of their new policy directions regarding provincially-backed power purchase agreements here,” he says. “The motivation there is to try to strengthen and ensure the long-term viability of the cogeneration plant and to spur proceeding of construction on the White River sites.”
