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Canfor Canal Flats Sawmill closing Monday
Canfor announced to its Canal Flats Mill employees on Sept. 9 that the mill would be shutting down Nov. 9.
As of tomorrow (Monday), after over 100 years of sawmill operation in or around Canal Flats, that history has come to an end.
The mill actually ran the last log through the sawmill on September 28 and the last board through the planer on September 30. Since that time our members have been cleaning up and preparing the mill for the closure, explained Doug Singer, President of United Steelworkers Local 1-405 in Cranbrook.
“This has been devastating for our members, their families, Canal Flats, surrounding communities and the Local Union” said Singer. “This closure, including the layoffs in May, affect more than 170 employees and related jobs, which is very significant.”
There have been a few members who have transferred to jobs at Elko or Radium Hot Springs, leaving a large number of members with very few options, especially those who are within ten years of retirement, Singer said.
“It’s going to have a very negative impact on people of Canal Flats and indeed, the entire valley. Many of the members reside in Canal Flats, Kimberley, Cranbrook and Invermere. These are workers with families and mortgages,” he noted.
Village of Canal Flats Mayor Ute Juras noted the closure during the conclusion of Friday’s (Oct. 6) Regional District of East Kootenay board meeting. She informed fellow board members about behind-the-scenes work being done and ideas being shared to find a route to help Canal Flats’ and the Columbia Valley’s economy from the loss of so many well paying jobs, including Columbia Basin Trust stepping forward to provide funds to hire a business liaison.
Over the last two months the United Steelworkers Local 1-405 has been meeting with Canfor to deal with many issues that needed to be resolved regarding severance, transfers (especially to Elko and Radium), the impact on the employee’s pension, benefit coverage, bumping and moving costs.
“We have addressed everything we can to date. A Transition Office has been very active at the Canal flats operation which was staffed by one of our union reps to assist employees with any information and assistance they required, who has done a great job with a difficult situation. The Transition office has been very active and helpful to our members, along with the assistance of a large number of outside organizations and government agencies, which have been very helpful and appreciated, a United Steelworkers Local 1-405 press release stated.
The Employee and Family Assistance Program (EFAP) has been aware of the situation so counselors have been available to assist our members.
“It is very unfortunate that fiber supply and the increased cost of the new market based stumpage system has resulted in the loss of this many members jobs,” said Singer. “We continue in the province of B.C. to allow massive amounts of log exports, although there are mills that do not have enough timber to run the operations to full capacity.”
“It’s a sad day,” Juras said. “But Canal Flats is very resilient and I know we will get through this.”
The United Steelworkers Local 1-405 is a diverse union representing over 1,300 workers in sawmills, credit unions, insurance services, hotels, ski resorts and municipal workers in the East and West Kootenay.
Lead image: A statement made at the Canal Flats Sawmill earlier in October. Photo courtesy Anne Jardine
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