DALHOUSIE, New Brunswick (AP) — Dalhousie's paper mill will stop running Thursday, signaling the end of an era that defined New Brunswick's northernmost town for more than 75 years.
The paper-making machines that have been the engine of the region's economy will shut down for good as AbitibiBowater Inc. goes ahead with its permanent mill closure.
Only a skeleton crew will remain of the 360 employees who counted on the mill for their livelihood, as did thousands of others who benefited indirectly from the mill's massive presence on the Dalhousie waterfront.
''Walking feels as if we've got no legs — they took the legs from underneath us,'' said Rene Landry, who worked at the mill for 29 years. ''We counted so much on the mill for our lives. Now it's turmoil.''
Landry, 50, is worried about both his own future and that of this remote town of fewer than 4,000 people.
''From St-Quentin to as far down as Bathurst, without the mill, people don't really realize the outcome that's going to happen. Not only to people at the mill, but a lot of people around the area,'' he said. ''It's the last nail in the casket for a lot of us people — a big, big downfall.
''I wish to God something comes here for our people.''
Tony Tremblay, Canada research chair in New Brunswick studies at St. Thomas University, agreed that the effects of the mill's closure will be felt throughout the region.
''The mill was really everything in Dalhousie, to the extent that people who didn't work in the mill, in a way worked in the mill,'' said Tremblay, who grew up in Dalhousie, the son of three generations of mill workers.
''People who owned clothing stores did tremendous business outfitting workers in coveralls and rubber boots, and fire crews were originally trained in the mill, (and) there were indirect and direct influences everyone who lived in the town felt.''
While the mill's daily grind will come to an end, Tremblay believes its presence planted a seed deep in the community that will flower into better days ahead.
''The mill gave people a sense of independence and self-reliance,'' he said. ''Even though the mill is gone, that sense of self-reliance is still a large part of who the people are.''
Mayor Clem Tremblay is also optimistic that Dalhousie has a future. He sees potential in the town's port, in the tourism industry, and for other industries that might come to town.
Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault met last week with a German company interested in using the mill to produce fuel pellets. The company has agreed to keep a handful of people on hand to heat the mill throughout the winter and leave the main infrastructure intact until September.
As for the 300-plus people out of work, the mayor said he's heard of many enrolling in courses to learn a trade, or finding work elsewhere in Canada to support their families.
''Today we're faced with the reality we have to pull up our socks and look at other avenues,'' said Tremblay.
