And what assets would he be taking? Why do you and the Globe and Mail insist on spreading inaccuracies? Fer gawd sake Canada stiffen your spine and stand up for what's right! The timber and water rights do not...I repeat do not....belong to Abitibi. They are leased rights with the understanding that the company will utilize those resources to run the mill. Otherwise, if they are not used and the mill shuts down, the assets revert back to the province. As for the hydroelectric sites, Williams is offering fair market value for these assets. Suck it up Abitibi. You reneged on your part of the deal, now suffer the consequences. You've been taking the province for a ride long enough.
Abitibi has not been investing any money into upgrading the mill. All profits from the Grand Falls mill has been taken out of the province to shore up operations in other parts of the world. Good riddance in my opinion. Hugo Chavez would have ridden their arses out of town long ago.
If Williams is on the wrong track why are the people of northern Ontario demanding action against Abitibi? Read on....
Should Ontario Follow Newfoundland?
Wednesday, 17 December 2008 Iroquois Falls – Northern Ontario residents are calling on Premier Dalton McGuinty to get tough with Abitibi Bowater over plans to sell off dams in Iroquois Falls. The three dams are an integral part of the success of Abitibi’s paper operations in Iroquois Falls. Hundreds of residents packed a community meeting to express their outrage over the potential sale of the dams which could seriously affect the bottom line of the local paper producer.
Northern residents say Ontario needs to take the lead of Premier Danny Williams of Newfoundland who stunned Abitibi with the news that he would expropriate the water rights at its shut down Grand Falls Mill.
MPP Gilles Bisson (Timmins-James Bay) says Ontario must act in the public interest. “Abitibi was given access to the water and trees of our region in order to create a very profitable operation. Selling off the dams to a third party will completely change the bottom line of this operation. Dalton McGuinty needs to stand up for the public interest and stop this sale.”
MP Charlie Angus (Timmins-James Bay) says the proposed sale speaks to the financial crunch facing the recently-merged paper giant. However, he points out that a quick fire sale of assets will only make matters worse. “The Iroquois Falls mill is a low-cost, reliable producer of paper. Its success is due to the fact that the three dams are part of the very infrastructure of the mill. The sale of the dams might bring some quick cash to the company but it will undermine the future of this operation. The Province would be completely irresponsible to allow Abitibi to get away with burning its furniture just to heat the house.”
The meeting included local municipal leaders, business leaders and union representatives. They have vowed to fight the sale of the dams.
Angus says Danny Williams is showing leadership while Ontario continues to fail the forestry industry. “There’s a reason Newfoundland is a have province and Ontario is not. The Province has stood back while thousands and thousands of forestry jobs have been lost across the north. This is a chance for the Province to show that it will stand up for the people of the north.”
NetNewsledger.com - Should Ontario Follow Newfoundland?
