Smooth Rock Falls moves forward on economic recovery.

For many small cities across Northern Ontario, the recent rash of forestry-related mill closures has proven to be a devastating blow, although Rejeanne Desmeules refuses to let her town pass as just another statistic.

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As the mayor of Smooth Rock Falls, Desmeules has been working tirelessly to develop and implement plans for economic recovery for the town of 1,700, which lost nearly 250 jobs following the closure of the local Tembec mill on July 31.

Time is of the essence, she says, as immediate action must be taken to try and preserve the economy before market forces set in and people are forced to leave to try and find work.

"There's an urgency to this matter right now," she says. "The people here have been disappointed in so many ways, and they are uncertain of their future."

In an effort to make her voice heard, Desmeules has already sought out and spoken with a variety of provincial ministers. From them a recent allotment of $93,000 by the Ministry Northern Development and Mines was announced. The funds will be used to hire someone to assist with economic development and the application for various related grants. The funding is also being used to conduct a land inventory analysis to better leverage the area's resources.

As part of its plan for economic recovery, Desmeules is aggressively pursuing the acquisition of the nearby power generation facility currently being leased by Tembec.

Having already met with Sturgeon Falls officials who have accomplished a similar task, Desmeules is moving forward to try and lay claim to the hydroelectric facility, which she says no longer belongs to Tembec after they idled their mill.

"We're very serious about acquiring that asset for the community," she says. "That would be of enormous importance, because the revenues generated from its operation would be able to be put into economic development and to pursue different things to get the community back on its feet."

Desmeules' other major project includes a potential cedar mill in the area.

A Quebec-based businessman, Pierrot Hardy, has expressed significant interest in constructing such a mill to the tune of $6 million, she says, which would create 30 to 35 new jobs and would make use of an underutilized local resource.

As the senior consultant with the Timmins-based Commerce Management Group, Robert Manseau is currently acting as the liaison between Hardy and the beleaguered town.

"Smooth Rock Falls is great because it has infrastructure, such as rail," says Manseau. "It has a community that is willing to go forward and be proactive with the attraction of businesses to its community."

Should the company find enough success and receive sufficient cedar allotments from the Ministry of Natural Resources, Manseau says it would eventually expand to include capacity for the production of value-added material such as cured and finger-joined lumber. This expansion would include an additional 30 to 40 jobs, bringing the site's total to 70 new potential jobs.

By NICK STEWART

Northern Ontario Business