KAPUSKASING - With a team of hundreds of supporters lifting up Kapuskasing, Mayor Dave Plourde says the town can't lose.
In the shadow of the Kap Paper mill and with empty rail cards in the background, hundreds of people rallied today to save the Kapuskasing facility that the company announced on Monday would be idled.
The ask is for a three-month loan from the province to give the company time to apply for a federal government longer-term fund.
"The money will ensure Kap Paper can transition to a long-term stable market. We need Ontario and the federal government to work with us on a solution and not point fingers at each other. The fate of our town's mills, workers and families are too important for these games,” he said.
Kap Paper makes newsprint and bulk paper from Canadian pine and spruce fibre. GreenFirst Forest Products spun off Kap Paper to be a standalone company after a 2024 restructuring. As part of the regional supply chain, sawmills along the Highway 11 corridor receive and process Kap Paper's wood residue.
About 2,500 people are directly and indirectly impacted by the news of the facility's impending closure.
Kap Paper and GreenFirst, said Plourde, provide over $300 million a year to the government, suppliers and workers. The companies pay over $74 million in taxes and stumpage fees, and brings in revenue for the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission that can grow, he said.
In Kapuskasing alone, the company contributes over $1 million to the tax base.
“So if you think your taxes are really high today, watch out,” he warned.
Today's rally featured union workers, families, school children and residents standing "Kapuskasing strong" to fight for the mill. Neighbouring mayors and the region's Member of Provincial Parliament also took to the mic. Company leadership was not at the rally and was instead in Ottawa meeting with the federal government.
Here's some of what the leaders had to say:
Mushkegowuk James Bay MPP Guy Bourgouin
The rally, said Bourgouin, is about the future of Kapuskasing and the region.
He noted that the community has been at a similar crossroads before.
In the 1990s, when the facility was known as Spruce Falls, the mill faced a similar challenge.
“When Spruce Falls was at the brink, this community stood together, MPP (Gilles) Bison alongside (the) Bob Ray government, the unions and community members fought together, and we won. We saved our milll because we refused to give up,” he said.
“Back then, we put petty politics aside and we saved mills because everyone was involved. Everyone worked together."
Bourgouin also noted that the provincial government's slogan is 'Protect Ontario.'
"And we’re here today? Wake up Ford,” said Bourgouin to applause. “Both the provincial and federal governments must step up. No more delays, no more excuses.”
Kapukasing will not be abandoned, said Bourgouin.
"Together, we are Kapuskasing strong. We're united, and together, we will keep fighting until this mill stays open and our future is secure,” he said.
Cochrane Mayor Peter Politis
It takes over an hour on Highway 11 to get to Kapuskasing from Cochrane, and the ripple effects of Kap Paper being idled are already being felt.
GreenFirst announced today that its sawmill operations in Kapuskasing, Hearst, Cochrane will be reduced for one week starting on Oct. 6.
While Politis said it was heartwarming to see the crowd standing together, he's disappointed in politicians — from local mayors to the Prime Minister, who has said has let people down.
"This truck went off the cliff in 2008. Forestry at that time in Ontario was harvesting 24 million cubic metres a year, sustainably in world class fashion, in a manner that everybody from around the world came and seen how to harvest a forest, how to manage the environment and how to build communities just like this one here,” said Politis.
In the 17 years since, he said the harvest has dropped to 10 million cubic metres a year. Dozens of mills have closed.
"This is the last stalwart standing to hold this industry together and for us to be sitting here talking to you about watching this mill close while having no plan over 17 years and how to carry this community forward and the rest of small town Canada forward is shameful, in my view. And I'm part of that shame, and I'm ashamed that we haven't been able to change this for you. But that stops here today,” he said.
Politis also rallied the crowd, encouraging them to hold hands with their neighbours and let them know they have their backs. The image being sent to Ford and Prime Minister Marc Carney, he said, is one of togetherness.
Hearst Mayor Roger Sigouin
Sigouin questions why the forestry sector was being targeted, and asked to be given the tools to succeed instead.
“So let's show the government we could do a lot better than they think, because the Frenchmen, the Anglophone and the other cultures, when they stand up and fight what they believe in, watch us. Give us the tools, and we're going to be it,” he said.
Val Rita-Harty Mayor Johanne Baril
Though not at the rally, Baril addressed the crowd over the phone.
She said Val Rita-Harty, a 10-minute drive from Kapuskasing, and the Northeast Community Network, a non-profit organization representing 12 municipalities that she chairs, stand in full solidarity with the affected workers, families, businesses and the municipality.
The rally, she said, is a powerful reminder that the forestry crisis is shared across the region and needs a collective response.
“I want to reaffirm my commitment to ensuring that our voices, the voices of northeastern Ontario are heard clearly and decisively in shaping the path forward for this mill. Premier Ford, the mill is idling. It must be met with more than broken promises. Come back to the table. Come together with Minister (Melanie) Joly to forge a path forward," she said.
Echoing comments Plourde raised earlier in the rally, she talked about the provincial aim to build more homes.
"You want to build more homes? Well, where are you going to get the wood studs to build them once sawmills closed due to the idling of this mill," she said.
“Let’s not stop this fight. Let's come together, Premier Ford, (Prime Minister) Carney, come back to the table, and let's make this … a good news story. Let's not put the final nail in the coffin. We deserve better,” she said.