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Government Neglect of Forestry Continues to Erode Northern Ontario

NDP MPP Lise Vaugeois (Thunder Bay – Superior North) and MPP Guy Bourgouin (Mushkegowuk – James Bay) released the following joint statement following reports of the indefinite shutdown of the Ignace sawmill, leaving another group of forestry workers without jobs, and further eroding the fabric of our Northern Ontario communities.

“Communities like Ear Falls, and now Ignace, deserve better than uncertainty and silence.” said Vaugeois. “The government must work directly with the company, and the company must work in good faith with the government and the union, to find solutions that protect workers, families, and good forestry jobs. Mills across the province are shrinking or shutting down; workers are being laid off at alarming rates, and infrastructure isn’t being replaced. Neglect is not a plan, and New Democrats urge collaboration between the government and the company as a responsible path forward for Ignace and northern Ontario.”

“Ontario is facing a deep crisis in our forestry sector.” said Bourgouin. “While other leadership like the BC NDP are working to secure forestry trade partners abroad, the Ontario government is not giving forestry the attention it needs. The Ontario NDP’s Homes Ontario plan would look immediately at connecting lumber produced in Ontario with contracts for building the housing that needs to be built. The Ontario NDP is committed to a rapid-response approach, with balanced representation from workers, communities, and government, is urgently needed.”

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