We need you to write letters to politicians about the mill

The plane was quiet on the trip home from Toronto. The reality was setting in. The adrenalin that coursed through the veins of the delegates for a day and a half had disolved The delegation had made their case to tranfer the Crossroute Forest away from Resolute. The two opposition parties had pummeled the Liberal government during question period over the loss of $100 million in investment in the Fort Frances Mill that would have created 200 direct mill jobs and another 800 ancillary jobs across the Rainy River District.
In the background, unseen forces had been at work to have the press conference cancelled and when those efforts had failed, Premier Kathleen Wynne had hastily called the press to her office to notify the press that she was handing out letters to parliamentary assistants. It was a successful ploy to draw the media away from the panel of Mayor Avis, chief Manville, Chief Big George and student Mira Donaldson.
Neither premier Wynne nor Natural Resources Minister appeared willing to aid the communities of the Rainy River district during question period. While lauding her governments record to attract foreign investment to Ontario, the premier appeared not wanting to assist Expera Specialty Products a foreign company willingness to spend $100 million to locate in the Rainy River district.
Premier Wynn felt that with her one visit to Fort Frances, she felt that she could relate to the loss of jobs in the region, the downturn in the economy and the loss of the mills in Fort Frances. Minister Mauro kept telling everyone that even if the forest was transfered from Resolute that there was no guarantees that a deal could be brokered between Resolute Forest and Expera Specialty products.
When Sarah Campbell asked the premier to find time on Tuesday to meet with the First Nation Chiefs and the Mayors of the Rainy River district, Kathleen Wynne declined to answer. Minister Mauro did meet with Chief Sarah Mainville, Chief Patricia Big George, Mayor Roy Avis, Councillor Anthony Leek to talk about the forest and negotiations.
It was a very informative meeting with a good exchange of information between the delegation and the ministers. New information was received by Minister Mauro regarding the existing terms of the Crossroute Forest Licence. Although over 700,000 cubic meters of wood had been offered up, the minister was not aware of whether that wood would be affordable to Expera.
The delegation left the meeting with the understanding that the Ministry of Resources and the Minister had much work ahead of them to understand the options that the Minister had with regard to the license and the requirements that Resolute had agreed to in signing the Crossroute Forest Licence.
The ball is also in the court of district residents. We have to let all the parties in Queen's Park know how important the mill and the Crossroute Forest are to the citizens of the district. We have to roar to be heard. The contact list to send emails, letters, or phone calls to are found in last week's Record.
–Jim Cumming,
Publisher