Letter to Ontario government on restarting operations at AV Terrace Bay

July 18, 2024 (press release) –

July 17, 2024

The Honourable Doug Ford
MPP, Etobicoke North
Premier of Ontario
Room 281
Legislative Building, Queen’s Park
Toronto, ON M7A 1A1
premier@ontario.ca

The Hon. Graydon Smith
MPP, Parry Sound—Muskoka
Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry
5^th Floor, 99 Wellesley St.
Toronto, ON M7A 1W3
Graydon.Smith@pc.ola.org, minister.mnrf@ontario.ca 

URGENT – Meeting request: Restarting operations at AV Terrace Bay

Dear Premier Ford and Minister Smith,

It has been six months since Aditya Birla shut down operations at AV Terrace Bay, which employed close to 400 workers – around 270 of whom are United Steelworkers (USW) members.

USW members bargained a strong four-year contract in 2022 and should be working today. When union members are working, the communities they live in thrive and benefit from their contribution to the local economy. Instead, the AV Terrace Bay closure has meant that families have been living in uncertainty for most of the last six months, and it remains unclear whether, or how, their government will support them.

The closure has also had negative ripple effects in the Northern Ontario communities of Terrace Bay, Schreiber and Pays Plat First Nation. Forestry jobs in the region are threatened, and small and medium-sized businesses are hurting and in some cases, have also shuttered.

Through Minister Smith’s office, your government indicated in January that: “Our government will continue to explore all options for reviving operations at the AVTB mill, and support the Terrace Bay community throughout this process.”

In April, Minister Smith was quoted saying, “We will leave no stone unturned to try and get that mill out of idle and active again.”

Premier and Minister, stones remain unturned, and workers, families and communities need your help.

I am inviting you both to meet with USW District 6 leadership to discuss how we can revive the pulp mill, get 400 people working again and give their communities hope.

This pulp mill is vital to this region and our province cannot afford to lose these operations and the jobs and businesses they support.

Sincerely,

Myles Sullivan
USW District 6 Director
Ontario and Atlantic Canada

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