TERRACE BAY — Members of the New Democratic Party are no strangers to fighting for the workers of this country.
It’s no surprise, then, that the federal NDP have taken notice of the ongoing situation in Terrace Bay.
Speaking with TBT News and Snnewswatch.com, federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh said that he’d just spoken with workers in Terrace Bay about the idling of the pulp mill.
“They were really shocked. They felt like the rug was pulled out from underneath them when they were given this really last minute notice out of nowhere that they’re no longer going to have a job,” Singh said.
Of course, the effects of the mill idling are still unfolding.
Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles recently visited Terrace Bay to speak to workers, representatives, and residents as well.
She was surprised to learn how far-reaching the effects of the mill idling and the looming possibility of a shutdown have had not just on Terrace Bay but communities across the northern region.
Singh made similar observations about widespread impacts.
“This isn’t just those hundreds of workers impacted, it’s thousands of people in local communities who rely on the mill as a part of major industry in the region so there’s a lot of people that are going to be impacted. They’re fighting to keep their jobs. They want to find a way to work with the mill to get it back open again,” Singh said.
In terms of how Singh and the federal NDP can help people in the region, he said they are pushing for financial security for workers and their families by assisting with employment insurance (EI) and applying pressure at the federal level to get all parties back to the table over the situation.
“First and foremost, people need to pay their bills so that’s why we want to find a way to give them some financial support – that’s EI. And, making sure it’s flexible enough to respond to their needs. In general, that’s been a long question we’ve had – that EI doesn’t always seem like it’s the right fit for people who have lost their job or have been laid off.
"It doesn’t always work, so we want to make sure that EI is there for people like these workers when they need it. So that’s the first thing.
"Then, the next bit is what we can do to help keep these jobs in the long-term – and that’s the area where honestly I’m open to working with anybody to try to help out these workers. We’re a worker’s party, we were founded by workers. They came together and created the New Democratic Party, so we are always there when workers need help. That’s what we’re focused on in the long-term: how do we keep these jobs in the community? What can we do to support workers being able to work with the mill to keep it open?” Singh said.
Further on the topic of finances, Singh expressed disappointment with how the Liberal and Conservative parties have not addressed the rising cost of food – which is especially poignant for people facing the sudden loss of their jobs, with no solution or closure yet in-sight.
He also touched upon the lack of affordable housing in the region.
“We need to build more homes, there’s no question about it. One of the things that sets us apart from the Liberals and Conservatives, they just talk about ‘building homes’ but we talk about building ‘affordable homes.’
"For a lot of communities what we see is luxury condo towers going up or luxury homes being built and no one can afford them. That’s not actually going to fix the problem. We need to build homes that people can actually afford, we need to look at cooperative housing and not-for-profit housing as options as well.
"We need to look at everything – it can’t just be one solution, it has to be all the solutions. Better student housing so students don’t have to compete with people who already have good jobs and are starting their career. Whether you’re 20 and trying to find a home or 40, whether you’re a senior, whether you’re a family – everyone needs to find a place that fits their needs and that is affordable, so we need all the solutions on the table,” he said.
He went on to add that repeating what we’ve done in the past will not solve the problems of the future.
“What we’ve heard so far from Trudeau and from Poilievre is that they want to do more of the same. They just want to let private developers solve this when that is what has brought us this problem.”
According to Singh and the workers he spoke to in Terrace Bay, there has been no word from the Liberal or Conservative parties regarding the situation with the mill.
Singh has pledged to make both parties aware.
“A mill or an industry in some of the smaller communities in the North doesn’t just impact the workers, not even just those families, but it’s the entire region – the entirety of local, nearby communities that depend on that industry that are impacted.
"Losing a mill could be devastating for the entire surrounding area. There’s so many connected industries and services that rely on the good jobs that are at the mill to continue to be able to exist and, without the mill, we’re going to see a big impact on the economy, a loss of other services and other jobs. And so it is really a trickle effect. It’s huge – not just one job but all the other jobs connected.”
