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Another local mill to close doors |
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The Labranche sawmill in St-Isidore-de-Clifton is closing its doors - the second in the community to do so and fourth in the region during the past two years. The Labranche Sawmill; another one bites the sawdust.
Sawmill owner Michel Labranche announced last week that the mill would be closing at least temporarily, resulting in the layoff of 15 workers.
After the closure of the Paul-Vallée sawmill in 2007, which employed 50 staff, the Labranche mill became the largest employer in the community.
Since then, Bury also lost its Produits Forestiers Champlain while Weedon saw the closure of the Blanchette et Blanchette sawmill.
The Haut-Saint-François MRC and its forestry sector have been hard-hit during the economic recession.
Bloc Quebecois MP France Bonsant’s office in Compton-Stanstead reacted to the closures, calling on the federal government to provide the same relief for the forestry sector in Quebec as it has for Ontario’s auto industry.
The Bloc had presented a rescue plan for the manufacturing and forestry sectors in Quebec last fall, which included a program that would offer guaranteed loans to help forestry companies modernize.
“Our region has lost close to 15,000 industry jobs since 2002,” Bonsant said in a release. “…I’m simply asking for a little more equity and justice for our forestry workers.”
(Staff)2009-06-22 |
Montreal Canadiens
