ISSN 0834-6283

Wednesday, September 30, 2009 $1.19 plus 6 GST, $1.25 U.S.

Printed in Canada email: info@fortfrances.com

Volume 115 Number 22 PAP No. 07429

www.fortfrances.com

ISSN 0834-6283

Forest industry needs support to survive: Harrison

By Duane Hicks Staff writer While theres no doubt the forest industry is suffering, its possible the emerging bioeconomy could be an integral part of Northwestern Ontarios economy in the future albeit only if the primary industry can get the support it needs to survive. Thats the message local AbitibiBowater mill manager John Harrison offered Friday to delegates attending the Northwestern Ontario Associated Chambers of Commerce fall meeting here. As residents of Northwestern Ontario, all of us have grown up with the forest products industry being a major presence in our life, Harrison noted. If it wasnt our direct employer or the employer of our parents, chances are that someone in our extended family worked in the mill or in the bush. . . . But in the course of just one generation, that pictures been drastically altered, he said. Across Northwestern Ontario, from Marathon to Kenora, pulp mills, kraft mills, paper mills, and sawmills either have closed entirely or have idled lines. Just 30 years ago, there were more than 20 paper machines in operation and five pulp mills in the region. Today, that number has been reduced to three paper machines and three pulp millswith the lumber side of the business looking even bleaker. Harrison said the decline can be attributed to a decreasing market demand and loss of competitive position in the last 10-15 years. The four key components that make up the roughly 80 percent of the cost of delivering products to customers are fibre, fuel, folks, and freight. Harrison explained that advances made over the years in pulping technologies have taken away the regions position as the finest fibre basket in the world. The quality of the slow-growing fine fibre in the north has been overcome by the application of new technologies to fast-growing species in the southern U.S. and South America, opening up a new region of pulp and paper-making where costs are roughly half of what they are in Northwestern Ontario. The south has warmer climates and shorter regeneration cycles, lower transportation costs to get the wood to the mills, and can do year-round operations. Fuel, including electricity and thermal energy (steam), is another factor. The latter is made by burning natural gas or biomass. The increased price of natural gas from $3/gigajoule to Please see Forestry, A11

Couchiching families still await action on contamination

By Peggy Revell Staff writer Couchiching First Nation residents still are waiting for action and answers from federal agencies months after engineering tests revealed high levels of contamination at the former site of the J.A. Mathieu sawmill. Absolutely nothing has changed for residents, said Lisa McPherson, whose family home is within the identified site that stretches along Harrys Road off Highway 11. Instead, she noted testing continuesthis time for six newly-identified chemicals that are present on top of the high levels of PCDDs and PCDFs identified in soil, groundwater, and dust samples taken by DST Consulting Engineering. But at this point, the main objective should be to get people out of there, not just continue with testing, stressed Amanda Jourdain, whose family was relocated earlier this year as a precautionary measure and now are renting a house in Fort Frances. They have declared in all the reports, in the air sampling, in the dust samplings, groundwater and soil, theyve all come back [at whats] called unacceptable human health risk, she noted. Our main point is that they need to get the people out of there, and how bad does it have to get? Move the people first and then they can test for 10 years and spend a godawful amount of money if they want to, Jourdain added. But the people and the kids shouldnt have to stay there and be affected by it. It would make just senseget [everyone] out, quarantine the area off, dont let anybody back, agreed McPherson. Then they could take their time cleaning it upnot that they shouldbut at least were not sitting here during this. This is inevitable, so why drag it out? Its ridiculous, absolutely ridiculous, she fumed, pointing out many of the families already could have been bought out with the money INAC has put into testing alonea number theyve been told is $1.2 million. Like the Jourdains, the McPhersons relocated in March but eventually returned back to their home due to mental and financial stress. While they were the only two families relocated, the range of contamination stretches to include dozens of family homes in the area. While it originally was assumed the contaminants arose from the former dipping pond of the J.A. Mathieu sawmill site, further historical research by DST has found that the site and surrounding areas have been used for other activities, such as wood treatment using zinc chloride as early as 1911, as well Please see Couchiching, A11

Garden of serenity
Over $2 million in renovations have been done at Rainycrest Long-Term Care in the past year, including the rebuilding of several courtyards for residents. This courtyard, located just off the special needs unit at Rainycrest, is a beautiful example of what the newly-renovated courtyards at the long-term care facility could look like once theyre ready. The flowers and furnishings were donated by families and friends of residents. See story, photos A3. Duane Hicks photo

Town relaxing fence bylaw

By Duane Hicks Staff writer The Town of Fort Frances is preparing a new fence bylaw for councils consideration, which will relax the rules regarding corner sight triangles as well as fences and hedges on corner lots. Planning and Development superintendent Rick Hallam said yesterday that during a recent review of Bylaw 13/01, one of the biggest concernsand source of controversywas the issue of safety at intersections where sight is impeded by an over-height fence, hedge, or other visual obstruction. As directed, Planning and Development staff researched municipalities across Ontario in regards to corner sight triangles, and found that the concept has been included in many municipal zoning or fence bylaws across Ontario. Please see Town, A10

Talks aim to resolve cash crunch at FACS

By Peggy Revell Staff writer Negotiations are underway with the province as Family and Children Services of the Rainy River District is facing a budget shortfall that could see it run low of cash before years end. Family and Children Services of the District of Rainy River is currently in dialogue with the Ministry of Children and Youth Services regarding funding issues, Bob McGreevy, president of the board of directors of FACS, said last week. Declining provincial revenues has led to funding reductions to child welfare agencies across the province, he noted. FACS is working closely with the ministry to address the funding shortfall and to ensure that child welfare services continue without interruption, he stressed. While he declined to give an exact amount of how short FACS may be, McGreevy said it was a significant amount. Were hoping to have worked out something before the end of November. So thats our hope, and that depends on many things, he said, noting the ministry is the only source of funding for FACS. The shortfall comes as a result of several factors, McGreevy said, most all of which the board sees as Please see Talks, A10

Cleaning shoreline
J.W. Walker students helped fill up a bag with garbage during the TD Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup held here last week. The top five things picked up this year were 988 cigarette butts, 453 food wrappers, 233 plastic bags, 184 paper bags, and 98 caps and lids. Some of the more interesting finds included a wallet, a $5 bill, giant bolts, carpet, and duct tape. Heather Latter photo

Inside
Honduran group shares, learns here
Its been a learning experience that bridges thousands of miles as a district First Nation hosted an exchange group from Honduras over the past week. Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation was proud to welcome the six guests who hail from the Pech tribe, which is made up of eight remote communities in Honduras, Chief Gary Allen noted.

Lifestyles
Lift means better mobility for teen
Call it an up-lifting story. After fundraising efforts by Safeway here, local teen William Moody Jr. now has a brand new portable lift to help with his mobility. Moody, who was born with spina bifida and requires a wheelchair to get around, was selected by Safeway staff to be focus of its 2007-08 We Care campaign.

Sports
Muskie hoopsters stay undefeated
Both the Muskie senior and junior girls basketball teams improved to 2-0 on the NorWOSSA season with victories over the Kenora Broncos here Monday. The seniors stretched their lead to 23-13 by the midway point of the fourth quarter, but a late push by the Broncos had them within a three-pointer when the final buzzer sounded, with the Muskies surviving a scare 23-20.

See story on A2

See story on A6

See story on B1

Wednesday, September 30, 2009

FORT FRANCES TIMES A11

Couchiching families still await action Forest industry needs support: Harrison
More from A1 as a dry kiln for using an unknown chemical to treat wood, a lathe and lumber storage yards, an asphalt plant, and more. [INAC is] responsible as far as were concerned, from our end, said Amanda Jourdains husband, Shawn. Because when the land was issued to the mill sites, it was supposed to be restored back to its original state and it wasnt. And we never chose to live on contaminated soilit was just that we ended up building there. Its frustrating, he admitted. I mean, were paying for a home we cant live in, that well never be able to live in. But while further testing is being done, one part of the delay has come from Health Canada itself, said McPherson. Theyre basically saying, We dont have enough on paper, youre not sick, we cant prove youre sick yet. Well, yeah, because you have my papers, she noted, pointing to how residents still are waiting to hear the results of blood tests that were taken more than three months ago. If the residents are being affected by the contaminants, it will show up like a fingerprint in their bloodwork, McPherson explained. When questioned about the bloodwork results, Dr. Thomas Dignan, regional community medicine specialist with Health Canada, Thunder Bay zone, stated that: The results are being processed in Ottawa at the government labs and they have many other things to be concerned about at this particular time and they will forward them to me as soon as theyre done. But to McPherson, its not acceptable the testing has taken this long. Thats three months, and what were there10, 15 of us tested? she remarked. Dont you think you want a little rush on this? Thats ridiculous when youre dealing with people. Even if these blood tests come back as clear, residents will require even more tests for the six newlyidentified chemicals, she noted. Meanwhile, Health Canada is waiting for the second report from DST on the six chemicals before proceeding, said Dr. Dignan. This new testing is being done because DST went back to different parts of the area and have come up with other solvents that were used in the wood treatment plant, he noted, adding that until the test results for these six new chemicals are in, Health Canada cannot say definitively that there is no risk. But Dr. Dignan stressed the initial results from DST which Health Canada received and reviewed indicated there was no need for people to be removed from their housessomething the DST consultants agreed withand it was safe for both the Jourdains and McPhersons to return to their homes once they were cleaned. The only way residents would be at risk is if they were to come in contact with the soil through eating it or rolling around in it, Dr. Dignan said, and as far as his knowledge, the areas of concern had been fenced off. Health Canada and Indian Affairs has been more than open with the community, and shared everything with them that we know, Dr. Dignan stressed. Its frustrating from my perspective because Im a First Nations physician and my concern is the community, and Ive always expressed that to the community, but theyre sometimes confusing political issues with health issues. But this response from Health Canada isnt good enough for the Jourdains, who say they wont be moving back to their home. They say that, they say that you can move in, said Amanda Jourdain, Well, if we can move back in, then how come the area can be chain linked off and be an unacceptable human health risk? Because they dont really know what actually happens, and it affects reproductive toxicology, which means it affects the kids, and their kids, like it builds up in their system, she charged. And that is just the chemicals that theyve tested for so far, and that is why theyre testing for these six new ones. If officials say the site is safe, then they can move their kids in there, Jourdain added. Were supposed to live here, were supposed to swim here, said McPherson, noting the health risks (eating or rolling around in soil) means they cant garden or grow their own vegetables, and that family pets are at risk. And to date, there has been no cleaning of the homes to get rid of any indoor contamination, she added, and nothing has been done to start the remediation of soil which has been fenced off in both of their yards. In fact, McPherson has taken to putting a sprinkler on both her and the Jourdains fenced-off lawns to keep the dust downa move she opted for so that DST wouldnt have to drive in from Thunder Bay three days a week to manage the dust. For McPherson, the delays and excuses from government feels like officials wont take action until after someone gets sick enough. How long do we let them drag on for now? We gave them a break for a bit, because we thought maybe something was going to happen, and absolutely nothing has, she charged, calling the lack of action a liability issue. Basically, we have to get sick, and once we are, are you going to ship us some body bags because we live on a reservation? McPherson wondered, referring to the recent move by Health Canada to send body bags alongside other health supplies to remote reserves in Manitoba when the communities had requested help in fighting against the H1N1 flu virus. Is that what were going get? Are you just going to send us some body bags so we can slap our kids in there? And with the contaminated area located on the lakefront, the issue stretches beyond Couchiching, both McPherson and the Jourdains stressed, adding theyre hoping to see support from other area residents and the Town of Fort Frances. Its ground level and everything from our house and north of us goes directly into our lakefront, so its got to be in the water as far as Im concerned, said Shawn Jourdain. This is in Rainy Lake, McPherson said. We might be on the rez, but this is everyones lake. So why isnt that important? Why isnt the town doing anything about it? Its already been proven that this is in the lake, she continued, pointing out that considering how big fishing is in the area, the possible effects of contamination on the fish populationwhich ultimately are ending up on peoples dinner platesshould be of concern to everyone. The Jourdains remain hopeful for the outcome, noting theyve seen improvements with the local project team of officials working on the problem. Our project teamtheyre doing a great job, said Amanda Jourdain. It is the higher-ups that have to give them the okays that have been absolutely useless so far. While previous meetings with officials had left them feeling ignored, Shawn Jourdain said at the most recent meeting, held Sept. 21, they were given more answers. Hopefully, things are going to move in a positive direction, he said. We all kind of left there with a better feeling than we did last time. [But] theyre talking years, Jourdain said of the timeline. Our familyand I think I speak for most of the familieswould like to get on with our lives and not spend three or 10 years figuring out what it could be, or what could go wrong. Get us out, move us out, and be done with it, he stressed. It would be the right thing to do, and thats one thing they have to realize.

More from A1 $14/gigajoule prompted the Fort Frances mill to build the biomass boiler. While that price has since dipped to $4/gigajoule, no one expects it to stay that low forever, noted Harrison. But the higher cost is on the power side of the equation, he continued, saying the only other AbitibiBowater mill in a jurisdiction with higher electricity costs than Ontario is one in the U.S. that has been idled since last year. Harrison said a paper mill consumes between two and three megawatt hours for every time paper is produced, meaning a $10/ megawatt difference in pricing could have an impact of as much as $10 million a year to a large mill. The spread between the highest and lowest electricity costs competing paper mills are paying is about $30/megawattor about a $30 million impact. As for folks (or labour), Harrison said the company has worked to improve productivity over the years, with machine speed-ups, efficiency improvements, flexibility agreements, and manning reductions. And while the mill has managed to move the bar from four man hours per ton to 2.5 man hours per ton, thats still a far cry from the 1.5 man hours a ton that can be achieved in more recent vintage mills where they have larger scale size. As well, most mills in Northwestern Ontario have a legacy of labour agreements and benefit plans that are radically different from those with whom we compete, Harrison said. And as for freight, Harrison said that in the pulp and paper business, the company pays for everything that comes into and out of their operations. Thirty years ago, that wasnt such a big deal for a Northwestern Ontario paper mill if the biggest concentration of commercial printers existed in the U.S. Midwest. But over the last 30 years, these printers have moved their operations to the southwest and southeastern U.S.doubling the logistic

footprint of a mill like Fort Frances and more than doubling the cost of shipping as the cost of fuel has gone up, too. Other factors hurting the forest industry include the declining demand for newsprint, which Harrison said is down 30 percent from last year, but has been steadily dropping for the past nine years in North America. Harrison outlined what it will take to survive in a forest-based economy, noting that first and foremost is the industry needs to have a reliable future source of fibre resources. He added the Ontario forest tenure system is under review by the government and probably is going to change. But its not the governments intent to give up rights to allocate fibre to mills and current Sustainable Forest Licence holders like AbitibiBowater is supporting the review with the understanding that it will deliver what is promiseda competitive long-term supply at an affordable cost without more bureaucracy or restrictions on what the companies can do. At the same time, there are serious concerns about the Endangered Species Act. Our current management practices take wildlife requirements very seriously, and we support protecting endangered species based upon the best available sciences, Harrison said. Were quite proud of the environmental record we have and the work we have done in the past with the Ministry of Natural Resources to provide for endangered species within the current framework of the forest management planning process. But we view the new legislation as opening up the door for frivolous legal challenges that are simply going to add cost and burden to business . . . , he warned. Another threat is power pricing. The region has an abundance of electricity, but the government refuses to put region-appropriate pricing in place. Regional mills pay the same as those in southern Ontario even though theres excess, low-cost

power available. They also pay for uplifts for transmission, peak setting, Ontario Hydro debt, and global adjustment. Harrison stressed there needs to be a firmly-established rate for Northwestern Ontario, adding that an all in price for power at $45/ megawatt hour would take the uncertainty out of making business decisions and make mills competitive. Looking to the future, Harrison said while there is potential for the development of forest bioproducts, like biodiesel, bioethanol, biochemicals, and electricity generation from burning wood resources, these are in the developmental stages and have a long ways to go. He said that since the raw materials needed for these new bioproducts are byproducts of the existing, primary forest industry, and without the infrastructure (i.e., forest management, road system, harvesting operations, support services) in place, its doubtful the emerging bioeconomy will develop. I dont think we can afford to cut off our future potential as a forest products region by failing to support our primary industry so that these secondary industries can grow up around us, he remarked. Theres a potential for us in the future, but were not going to get to the future if we dont have what we have today and these key mills go away, he argued. I know the picture I paint is not a cheery one, but its not a cheery business these days, Harrison admitted. The reality is were going through structural change in our industry. The demand for our products is lessened, input cost pressures have marginalized a lot of mills in the region. There are, however, mills left in the region that if properly supported by the owners, by the communities, by government, can be viable going forward, he stressed. If we can keep the nucleus of these integrated mills in place, and we have the infrastructure in place, they will go off and pursue a new economy of the forest for the future.

GREAT SAVINGSTHEAT

GREAT BEAR
WE NOW HAVE
THE AREAS BEST SELECTION OF

SQUINKERS By Sandra Lamb

New Gifts, Souvenirs, Moccasins & T-Shirts arriving daily!

The areas LARGEST SELECTION of Hi-Vis Safety Wear, Safety Footwear, Tackle, Fireworks

RODS, REELS & TACKLE

IN STOCK! Just waiting for you, plus more on the way!

Convenience StorePropaneLoggers SuppliesLicencesBaitTackle MapsSouvenirsGift ShopFireworksMoccasinswild RiceCuban Cigars Come out & see our selection of gifts, shirts & hats. You can also use your INTERAC! GAS, DIESEL, FUEL & BULK OIL Hwy. 11 East of Fort Frances 807-274-2221

2009 MODEL LIQUIDATION

Congratulations On Your Retirement

Bill Johnson
Jim, Linda and the entire staff at MacDonald Motors extend congratulations and best wishes to you on the occasion of your retirement as Service Manager.
On Behalf of your MacDonald Motors family, Jim and Linda would also like to recognize and commend you for providing over 40 years of service to the dealership, and to thousands of customers throughout the Rainy River District and Northwestern Ontario. Your knowledge, dedication and leadership have been instrumental in our development as a company and

OUR BEST DEALS OF THE YEAR! ALL REMAINING 09S GOTTA GO!
THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN

DISCOUNTS & REBATES!

THE COUNTDOWN IS ON!

LOW LOW FINANCING AVAILABLE!

BRAND NEW
2009 CHEV SILVERADO LT REG CAB 4X4

BRAND NEW
2009 CHEV COLORADO LT CREW CAB 4WD

FULLY LOADED, V8 + AUTO, ALUMINUM WHEELS, AUTOTRAC 4WD AND ONSTAR. STK#9203

FULLY LOADED WITH ONSTAR, XM, ALUMINUM WHEELS, POWER EVERYTHING AND MORE. STK# 9114

TAKE YOUR PICK FOR JUST

$

24,995

*
Let s ke ma a

We Thank You.

MACDONALD MOTORS LTD.

1324 Kings Hwy, Fort Frances, ON www.jimmacdonaldmotors.ca

274-53211-800-465-7765

MacDONALD ROCK SOLID!

*PLUS TAXES & LICENCE FEES, WITH $1000 LOYALTY COUPON.