KENORA — Ontario New Democrats and union leaders say government should find ways to keep mills in Ear Falls, Ignace and elsewhere open, but with more worker involvement. “The bottom line is that when things are run on the corporate bottom lines only, communities get left behind, workers lose jobs, profits go out and the problems stay in the community,” said Luke Hildebrand, president of the NDP’s Kenora–Rainy River constituency association. “So the only long-term solution is workers having a stake in the future and not just a paycheque.” Hildebrand noted a petition calling on governments to “take immediate action to reopen the Ear Falls sawmill and stop the shutdown of Ignace sawmill” has gathered about 300 signatures. It also calls for establishment of a “forestry job protection task force,” development of “a unified provincial–federal strategy to ensure that Canadian lumber is used in Canadian homes” and support for worker equity in mills.

Related coverage:

• By Sarah Law in CBC News: Unions, NDP in northwestern Ontario call for government action amid sawmill shutdowns