The pending closure of the Abitibi-Bowater paper mill in Grand Falls-Windsor is the talk of the Province these days. Hundreds of direct and countless indirect jobs will be lost once the mill closes and the future of Abitibi’s timber and water rights in the province are in question.
This is another clear example of the kind of industrial rape Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have experienced for decades and it speaks volumes about the attitude of big business toward this place.
We’ve seen it before in the destruction of the Atlantic fishery.
We’ve seen it in places like Stephenville and Bell Island.
Now we’re seeing it in Grand Falls, Windsor.
Yes, the economy is bad but that reality is not the reason this particular mill is being closed.
The mill is closing because Abitibi-Bowater ran it into the ground through a lack of upgrade or investments over the years, and because their board of directors believe that they can walk away from the town while still making millions of dollars in profits for decades to come.
It’s up to the Government of the Province, and the people who live here, to see to it that not one more penny of profit is sucked out of our resources by this company once the locks go on the doors.
Representatives of the provincial government say they are in the process of determining what can be done to recover Abitibi’s timber and water rights. That’s all well and good and I hope they can successfully regain them, but barring that, there are other options that will ensure the pillaging of our province, at least by this one company, is stopped dead in its tracks.
While the mill is active and the people working, excess power generated by Abitibi on the Exploits river is being sold into the provincial grid and purchased by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. Once that mill is closed, Abitibi management intends to sell all the power it can generate to Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and reap millions in profits each year. This cannot be allowed to happen.
The right to generate electricity on the Exploits River was granted to the company so it could power the mill. This company cannot be allowed to benefit from this resource once the mill is closed.
No mill, no power.
If the government finds it has no legal means to regain those water rights, it must direct Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, a crown corporation owned by the people, to take a lesson from the Upper Churchill debacle and a page out of the Quebec playbook.
Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro must refuse to purchase a single kilowatt of power generated by Abitibi.
With no market for the power and no means of distributing it, the company’s board of directors won’t be long figuring out that the generating station and water rights are completely worthless to them.
As for the timber rights, if government discovers it has no recourse for reclaiming those, it may well fall to the people of the Province to take a stand.
Weeks, months or even years of blockades and picket lines preventing wood laden trucks from rolling down the road and ships from hauling away this valuable resource may be needed.
The process will likely be long, calling for great sacrifice on the part of many, including the possiblity of facing minor legal issues during the process, but in time the incessant delays, additional costs and resulting damage to its public image will force Abitibi to understand that leaving the province means leaving the province, not continuing to rape it.
No longer should Newfoundlanders and Labradorians sit idly by and be dictated to by greedy corporations.
No longer should the people continue to watch as their resources are stripped away for the benefit of companies and governments elsewhere.
If the people of Newfoundland and Labrador don’t make a stand on Abitibi-Bowater when will they make a stand, and will the time come when there is nothing left worth standing up for?
