Nickel Belt News
Volume 58 Number 11
Friday, March 16, 2018
Thompson, Manitoba
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Wednesday, June 24, 2020
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Volume 60 • Issue 26
Vale announces comprehensive review of Manitoba Operations and future job cuts to reduce operating losses BY IAN GRAHAM
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
Vale Manitoba Operations said June 16 that it is launching a comprehensive review of its business model that will result in job cuts. Manager Franco Cazzola says Manitoba Operations lost roughly $300,000 per day in operating funds in 2019. “We need to find a simpler and more nimble operating model to ensure our future in Thompson,” Cazzola said in a business update emailed to the Thompson Citizen. “The first step will be a comprehensive review of the business.
Adjustments to our operating model will be made based on the outcome of this review.” Cazzola said these adjustments “will mean a smaller workforce than we have today. We will consider every option available to us to ensure any job reductions are as limited as possible, and we will ensure they will not impact the safety of our ongoing operations.” Vale says it has invested nearly $1 billion over the last decade in its Manitoba business – “one we remain committed to for the future.” The new model to help
ensure the long-term sustainability of Vale Manitoba Operations is planned to take effect in the fall of this year. Warren Luky, president of United Steelworkers Local 6166, which represents 552 hourly workers at Vale Manitoba Operations, said the announcement was a surprise and a disappointment to union members. “They’ve indicated there’d be job cuts as early as November,” he said. “A lot of our members are in a lot of uncertainty. A lot of our members have gone through this before. It’s a big blow to anybody
who works there and definitely a blow for the community at large where these job cuts are going to have an effect on people’s lives and the town.” Seven months ago, then Manitoba Operations head Gary Eyres told the Thompson Chamber of Commerce that a $1 billion investment in the Thompson mines over the next five years could generate nearly $8 billion in economic activity over the next 45 years. He also said the company had about 30 fewer employees than it wanted and that there were no plans to cut any more jobs. About 870 people worked at the mine at the end of 2018, a year that saw 250 layoffs due to the smelter and refinery shutting down permanently in mid-summer and another 180 positions cut as a result of early retirements, resignations and the elimination of
non-unionized staff positions. That left it at about two-thirds of what it had been at the end of 2017, which saw about 120 job losses when Birchtree Mine was placed on care and maintenance status, where it remains. Eyres was replaced less than year into his stint as Manitoba Operations manager by Cazzola, who formerly worked in Thompson from 2005 to 2008 and was most recently the manager of the Copper Cliff mine in Sudbury since August 2019 and of the Copper Cliff refinery since September 2018. USW Local 6166 members accepted a five-year collective bargaining agreement in September of last year that included the introduction of a 20 per cent co-pay for prescription drug costs and the elimination of post-retirement benefits for future employees.
Luky says the workforce at the mines and mill is “trimmed pretty close” and that factors that can only be addressed through capital investments are affecting productivity. “Our shaft is farther from the ore body,” he said. “When you’re getting farther away from the ore body, the harder it is to mine. A lot of things we didn’t get … that capital work before and we’re in a position now where its kind of catching up with us.” He also says the announcement extends the cloud of uncertainty that has enveloped the operation for years. “We’re just curious to see what their business plan is,” Luky said. ”We don’t know where they’re going with that, unfortunately. I can’t predict that. Uncertainty’s very stressful for a lot of our members, very stressful for the community at large.”
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StreetReach team now active on Thompson streets, interacting with youth and helping police find missing young people
victims. frequently receives as many Billie-Jo Thompson, as six or eight reports of The recently re-estab- who heads the team, told youth in care who are absent lished Thompson Street- the city’s public safety com- without leave (AWOL) from Reach team has been on mittee at their June 11 meet- their residences at curfew st $ the streets for a few weeks, ing that the intention was to time each night, though the getting to know local youth start by getting to know the total number for this May – nd $ as well as organizations and other stakeholders they’d be 118 – is considerably lowagencies who work with working with. er than it was for the same Send your name, phone number, rd $ them. “We’re just excited to be month last year , when there a description of some key The team is being fund- here and able to help out were 230 such reports. features, along with photos to: ed by the provincial gov- in the community,” said “The members are workernment, which committed Thompson. “We’re trying ing with StreetReach to find ct.tessbennett@outlook.com $2.1 million over three to have a soft start to get out kids that are absent from Contest closes: years to pay for its oper- in the community and meet group homes and also out ations, including $329,000 the youth and stakeholders there providing intelligence, July 15, 2020 last year, and $900,000 each and some of the agencies.” what they see and what they Winners will be announced: this year and next year. The The hope for a soft start hear, to the RCMP, which is July 20, 2020 funding resurrected a previ- didn’t necessarily materialveryNews beneficial,” Hastie. Nickel Belt photo bysaid Ian Graham ous program that hadgrowing gone ize, as Thompson RCMP “Every morning we report Entering thisGisele contest allows Canadian Addictions Foundation of Manitoba northern director deMeulles has written a book about her experiences up, mostly in Churchill. dormant in Thompson after detachment Staff. Sgt. Chris our AWOLS to StreetReach Tire to display photos and publish the BY IAN GRAHAM For allemail the harsh weather to write things that you have ‘Oh, I’m just as bad, right?’ was a very safe when say through beingnot established boththing here swallow Hastie said the people team came and then they winner’s photos and names in the EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET to figure out. It’s pretty clear I have all these stories and to I jumped at it. I that the of polar anddoinbut Winnipeg in 2009. acrossChurchill a violent residents crime in- and go out in dangers the afternoon and Though she’s now written when I getThompson through.” Citizen Inewspaper. need to capture them for thought that was find on somewhere said if it Modelled after theexciting Dallas, should volvingjust a youth just their bears, eveningdeMeulles and give us a hand a book about her experienDeMeulles said she wrote my grandchildren really until planedepartment’s landed and easier live.of operations. had shealready would Texasthe police secondtonight herebeen and viable they’re ces growing up in Churchill, her book, titled Whispers in because they will be lost if they startedvictims throwingunit, the “To say, a‘Those people moved back to Churchhigh-risk “It was robbery on have encountering these youth. Addictions Foundation of the Wind: Stories from the I don’t.” fuel off and I realized, ‘Holy Ashberry choose to live there. They ill in a heartbeat. StreetReach’s main goals Place, a youth It takes the pressure off the Manitoba northern director North - Life in Churchill for She also has a reputation cats, I was sitting just and leave,’ is came quite RCMP “I miss the shoreline, are to stopprobably children and should got robbed they detachment whenI Gisele deMeulles said writ- a couple of reasons. as a storyteller herself. on a bomb.’” It’s quite disre- miss the rock, miss the youth from running away simplistic. across that,” Hastie. we have these Iresources ing wasn’t something she “I just sort of thought, “I had such a varied his- from Another thing future that spectful. weknow were in the polar even that though home, prevent GettingIf to youth here inbears Thompson are always thought she would you know what, this his- tory and I would tell people spurred her and on exploitawas the living same boat in another area dangerous and sexual abuse in Thompson and they’re able tovery offset our workdo. tory, this stuff that’s in my stories and they would go, hard times facing Churchill I think they we would scream really missthe theyouth Hudson tion, redirect runaway chil- where hang out and Iload. I think will “In my I never head,THOMPSON it’s going to be gone 204-778-8888 ‘That’s not true, is it?’ I’d go, since theprevent Hudsonthem Bay from Rail- about thatassociate so why don’t she says. “When I go 60youth SELKIRK AVENUE, • PHONE dren to who they withthey will Bay,” definitely like the non-law felt good at writing,” she if I don’tCENTRE write it down,” she ‘Yeah it’s true.’ They’d go, way option to do that? back home, standing on the beingsuspended victimizedoperations and inter- have be onethe way that StreetReach enforcement approach so GARDEN HOURS: said. “But when I moved said. “My kids are not go- ‘You didn’t do all that, did north Gillam spring. think right now they’re Hudson looking on veningofto stop last those who Ican greatly assist Thompson it’s greatBay to have thisout in the Monday to Saturday 8 am to 7 pm • Sunday 9 am to 5 pm to Thompson to get into ing to get it if I don’t do it you? You’ve got to be really exploit “It used to behigh-risk a really feeling they’re pawns the bay, it just gives you an young, RCMP, like as the detachment community.”
Next Year
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BY IAN GRAHAM
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
TO ENTER:
the school of social work, and it’s something I’ve alat that point I had to write ways wanted my mom to for university and realized, do. My mom’s an elder and ‘Holy, I’m not bad at this, she’s an artist, she’s got so right?’ I certainly developed many wonderful stories bea lot of skill in university cause she always tells her and came out of there with stories at Parks Canada in a very strong skill in my Churchill and I’ve always writing and SWEEPING, confidence in LAWN hounded her, ‘Please, just POWER MOWING, my writing. I write very put it on tape, I will write it AERATION, DETHATCHING & SPRAYING clear and that’s it. It’s there. for you because your story Some people say it’s kind of is going to be lost,’ and she’s blunt or direct. I don’t tend never done it and I thought,
“Gravel on your lawn? Gotta be gone.”
old.’ I was like, ‘No, actually I did all that before I was 27,’ and they went ‘What?’” Looking back, some of those experiences are things she might not do again. “I did some pretty bizarre stuff like fuel hauls into the high Arctic at -35,” said deMeulles. “It didn’t dawn on me until after. That was a very dangerous thing to do. Being on a plane full of fuel
thriving large community and it’s just dwindled down to such a small population now,” deMeulles says. Though she’s not there any longer, her parents and her sister and other family members still are. “My cousin owns the hardware store there,” she says. Because of that, deMeulles finds it hard to
in a political game and that’s really sad for them because I think the people of Churchill really want to thrive. They’ve built their worlds there. How would we feel if someone came to you and said, ‘I’m sorry, you have to leave your home community and we’re going to displace you somewhere else and all your loved ones and your history is gone?’”
incredible sense. You feel so small and you feel great.” Now that she’s got one book under her belt, deMeulles says she may try to produce another. “I have another book in me,” she says. “It’s a darker story, more about personal growth and struggles. Maybe in the next five years it’s something I’ll focus on doing.”
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