Kitimat is the new Mackenzie... and Mackenzie's mayor hasn't given up either. Hats off to these tough ladies who work so hard for their communities.

Yep. We feel your pain. It sucks owning a home that is worth less than what you paid.

I'll never buy a place in a one horse town ever again.

Canfor Pulp is there hiring maintenance personnel right now, so they had better hurry up and do something.

http://www.kinlochleven.co.uk

Kitmat is not alone. Kinlochleven is one example of a community that had to undergo some similar job losses. They had an aluminum plant for about 100 years and it was shut down a few years ago.

They have learned to be smaller again and have some interesting things they have done with local hiking, climbing and parcticing on artificial ice walls.

Ahh good ol' Joanne the eternal optimist!

Unfortunately,I know some people who bought a big home in Kitimat last year.
It was expensive, but they figured what the hell...go for it!
Sometimes we just don't read the mail.
Today they are not very happy and I do feel very sorry for them!
Our government/s don't have a lot of respect for "one horse" town's and that is part of the problem.
They don't care what happens to them or the people who live there.
They would like it much better if we all lived on the lower mainland.
And while we understand there is only so much that can be done,these "one horse" towns built this province and they deserve better.
The taxes,stumpage fees,etc.etc. that go to Victoria from these small,forestry based communities in the north, is an incredible amount of money...or it used to be.
Sadly,there will come a time in the not too distant future when many of them will in fact disappear almost completely.
Not that the provincal government actually gives a damn!
For the most part,they don't even know where they are!
They know who and what generates the tax base,but they know nothing about the people themselves.
My condolences to all in small town B.C. and small towns everywhere.

You said it yourself... "The taxes,stumpage fees,etc.etc. that go to Victoria from these small,forestry based communities in the north, is an incredible amount of money...or it used to be" If these forestry towns were creating so much money in taxes and stumpage, why WOULDN'T government give a damn if they disappeared? Seems a bit contradictory, no? Back in my school days we were given the statistic that stumpage created $2 billion (obviously out of date now but I'm sure it's still a lot) in revenues for the government. Seems like a lot to just piss away because it's not coming from the Lower Mainland.

It's all fine and dandy to blame the government of the day, but really, we're thinking pretty highly of them if we expect them to be able to control things like this. There's nothing the BC gov't (lib, ndp, whoever) could do to change wood product markets, and when those markets hit the tank, so do the industries and towns supplying them. That's the risk of being a "one-horse town".

You're right swingline...there isn't a lot the government can do to change the wood market,even though a lot of their bad policies over the years had much to do with the present situation.
A serious lack of foresight it would seem.
They could however do more to encourage businesses to set up in these smaller communities.
They COULD offer some incentives to do so...some good ones.
There are advantages.
Stable work force,cheaper living,
lots of positives, but businesses and companies just don't think that way anymore.
Neither do people I guess.
Everyone wants to be in the mainstream now.
And in fairness,it isn't all good anyway.
Higher shipping costs in many cases because of location,lack of medical facilities,education opportunities,travel time to and from an airport,etc.
A tough one for sure.
When I worked for M&B in Powell River in the mid 60's and early 70's,there was about 2500 plus people in the paper/pulp mill.
Now there is about 300, and even those jobs have an uncertian future.
I am just damn glad I am retired.
Nothing will ever be quite the same again!

What could have helped many Northern communities is if the Asian markets would have been actively pursued 15 - 20 years ago. If that would have happened, we would now be seeing train loads of lumber heading to our ports for export overseas, thus offsetting the downturn in North America.
Developing viable commerce with China proceeds at a snail's pace. Let's hope we can last long enough to see it come to fruition.

"Our government/s don't have a lot of respect for "one horse" town's and that is part of the problem."

Lets rally the government to ban one horse towns!

Seriously, how on earth is the government supposed to do something?

"Developing viable commerce with China proceeds at a snail's pace. Let's hope we can last long enough to see it come to fruition."

Sure they will buy something, but they are always going to push for raw logs over lumber, because their labour pool is cheaper AND more efficient. The reason the US is the best market hasnt changed much, stronger (albiet slightly) dollar and they are only marginally more efficient than we are, which we can offset with the lower dollar and low stumpage.

Developing viable commerce with China is a perfect example of what is happening with this country in regards to its' resources. Essentially we will become slaves to this governments inability to realize the assets and resources it has and their value.

As for one horse towns, this to the PG folk with no harm intended. Your time will come, you are not immune. Whereas I am the victim of a corporate and provincial government coup. This will all be evident in 2010. Kitimat essentially is a no horse town, this will also be evident later in 2010 as Rio Tinto begins it hydro sales option.

Please feel free to bash the current Mayor and her endeavours, but remember what the previous Mayor stood for, with or without the support of other council members or the blind sighted community.

BorninBC:-" Sure they will buy something, but they are always going to push for raw logs over lumber, because their labour pool is cheaper AND more efficient."
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"Their labour pool" is NOT "more efficient". The Doctrine of Comparative Advantage assumes that the costs of production and social standards are fungible. The theory is that an hour of labor anywhere in the world is competing against an hour of labor anywhere else in the world.

The theory is that the utilization of natural endowments is maximized if there is free competition. But poverty is not a natural endowment but a social condition. The lack of safety or pollution standards are not natural endowments but social conditions.

It is not free trade to expect a domestic manufacturer, who is required to have a clean smokestack, a safe work floor and decent wages, to "compete" on his same street, with an overseas manufacturer who has no such comparable requirements. It is rather the prescription for his extinction.

In terms of financial costs of production, as opposed to real costs, his costs are always going to be greater than his overseas "competitor." It doesn't matter how efficient or productive he becomes, he is always at a disadvantage, and on the road to his functional death.

So the industrial base is hollowed out. Entire sectors are lost. The consumer electronic sector is gone and the automotive sector is practically gone. What's next?

The pattern is always the same. In order to try to compete and stay in business, the domestic manufacturer begins to cut corners, the quality of his product declines, while the quality of his overseas "competitor" improves, as he plows the profits from his "trade surplus" back into the manufacturing process.

It's a process that enslaves the workforce of the exporting country that manufactures the goods, while it simultaneously impoverishes the workforce of the country that imports its manufactures. It is not "free trade", it has nothing to do with actual TRADE, but everything to do with a perverted financial system that'll put us all on the bottom.

"As for one horse towns, this to the PG folk with no harm intended. Your time will come, you are not immune. Whereas I am the victim of a corporate and provincial government coup. This will all be evident in 2010. Kitimat essentially is a no horse town, this will also be evident later in 2010 as Rio Tinto begins it hydro sales option."

Victim? You can't be serious. The problem with some residents in Kitimat is their silly idea that somehow Alcan, Eurocan, Methanex and others owe them a living. These same people refuse to see the logic of the economy and the benefits to diversification.

Kitimat is NOT a no horse town but the continued belief of that by its own residents is what is killing Kitimat. Residents SAY they want the community to flourish yet they continue to engage in outshopping practices and resent innovation. Then they whine and wonder why local merchants struggle to maintain their customer base.

Investors and industry come and explore the area. They take a look at business viability but are blocked by the negativity, lack of cooperation and in-fighting that occurs.

"Please feel free to bash the current Mayor and her endeavours..."

Why on earth would anyone wish to do that? Kitimat's current mayor has been Kitimat's and the Northwest Region's biggest supporter. Her optimism and understanding of the challenges make her the perfect person to try to lead the community to greatness. The mindset of the community, region and some members of Council as well as the Regional District need adjusting! Diversify! Be all-inclusive and seek solutions. The sooner Kitimatians stop being negative the better.

Joanne has it right - there is a lot going on in Kitimat. Time to market it effectively.