Locked out workers in small northern Manitoba town struggling to make ends meet

PINE FALLS, Man. — Many people in the small Manitoba town of Pine Falls say they are struggling to make ends meet since Quebec-based Tembec Inc. locked employees out of its paper mill on Sept. 1.
Already 10 families have packed up and left town.

“My best friend came over to my place last week, gave me a hug and he said, ’I’ve got to go,’ ” said Bill Lavelee, a 32-year employee of the mill. “He’s gone to Alberta.”
Mayor Ted Pichor said the situation affects more than just the 250 employees embroiled in the labour dispute.
“If the mill doesn’t start up, the tax base would shrink,” said Pichor. “There’s houses that are going up for sale right now, and they’re not selling, so that’s a problem.”
Some of the mill workers have had to cash in their savings, while others are trying to make do by tightening their belts.
“Christmas is cancelled at our house,” said one worker on the picket line.
“There’s nothing I can do about it. If there’s no money, there’s no money.”
Others in the community have set up a food bank to help out the workers. Organizer Michelle Bruneau said 10 families are coming in daily.
Tembec (TSX:TBC) has said it needs an immediate and significant reduction” in labour costs at the paper mill in order to keep it competitive in a radically changed market for newsprint.
The company had warned the United Steelworkers union there would be a lockout if a deal couldn’t be reached by the end of August.
Many in the community want the province to step in and help find a solution, but so far that hasn’t happened.
“We’re suffering,” said one man. “It doesn’t feel good.”
Ironically, residents of the nearby Sagkeeng First Nation have been celebrating since learning last week that local couple Kirby and Marie Fontaine were winners of the $50 million Lotto Max prize, one of the biggest jackpots in Canadian lottery history.
People in both Pine Falls and Sagkeeng have said the couple are deserving winners who have themselves struggled with money woes since Kirby had been off work with health problems.
“It’s done a lot for the town,” Laurie Wilson, who with her husband Kim Wilson owns the store that sold the winning ticket, has said.
“There’s been so much heartache with the Tembec lockout.”
Kim Wilson is one of those who have been on the picket line since the lockout began.