Alcan, like all multinational corporations, has no interest in the long term sustainability of the community of Kitimat. It amounts to corporate welfare, getting cheap hydro and water, $50 million grant from government, and then resulting in fewer tax dollars collected from fewer employees.

Execs at Alcan have been known to say, "Alcan looks forward to its continued partnerships with governments, communities, industry, Traditional Owners and others to support economic, environmental and social development."

Partnerships? Social development? It is more like exploitation and corporate colonialiam. Who pays the welfare bill when they decide to move elsewhere or lay off more employees?

I remember many years ago when Kemess Mines received government funds of approximately $370 million to build the mine site. Kemess, wasn't that a company out of Kirkland Washington?

Where does all this money come from that the government so freely gives away? Yep, you got it. Dirty deeds, done dirt cheap!

Great questions above! How about some positive alternative ideas/suggestions?

Ben, it is not going to be the end of Kitimat.

The residents have been adjusting to the changing circumstances as others have in similar situations.

Already Kitimat residents do most of their non-grocery shopping in Terrace/Rupert and can be regularly encountered shopping in the Pine Centre Mall, Costco, Ave Maria's, the Bay and so forth.

Retirees move away, some stay; the young people are very flexible and make the best of the situation.

A 99 year agreement was signed between the province and Alcan and Alcan will use it to its advantage as long as it exists.

If Alcan had a greater concern for the town it created (Kitimat) it would have brought some of its secondary aluminum manufacturing facilities from Ontario to Kitimat where all that cheap electricity is available.

I am thinking of Alcan's aluminum foil rolling mills, aluminum extrusion plants, aluminum alloy wheel casting plants (presently it is in Richmond) and so forth.

That would have provided skilled work for many hundreds of workers and ensured the continuing growth of the community.

During the decade of the nineties the then government could not come up with any solutions to the Alcan saga either, except the signing of a fictitious 1997 agreement that had loopholes in it greater than a barn door for Alcan to escape through.

Does anyone have an idea how to legally modify an agreement the terms of which have become a thorn in the eyes of so many observers?

Let's not forget an aging workforce. I was born and raised in that city, and I still have family and friends there, so naturally there's an attachement, but we need to remember that yes, the community will fight this tooth and nail, but business is business unfortunatley.

Also, realize that many of Alcan's employees are up for early retirment, which will hopefully lessent the hit. My wife and I, like many other younger people left that town because we didn't want to be stuck working at Alcan. We wanted to experience other places and other lives that come with moving away. My father, uncles, as well as my wifes family have retired and moved on either to Terrace or beyond, even my brother who still works there commutes the 30 minutes everyday from Terrace. It seems fewer and fewer people choose to stay within the community and get out when the gettin's good...2 cents

You can bank on it gonefishing and diplomat.
Life will go on, and Kitimat will not be wiped off the map.
Those isolated little communities eventually have a tendency to fall by the wayside after a good many years.
But hey-the fishermen will still be coming to fish. And a good many will still be employed.
All is not lost!
And there is much to be gained!

Hard to understand what the issue is here. Alcan is investing into the smelter, one that would otherwise be shut down due to inefficiencies, and in the process achieving the ability produce more electricity to sell back to BC Hydro. Now, Alcan, as many other major resource companies, has the ability to produce just about anywhere in the world. They're going against the trend and actually investing back into the community and Canada, notwithstanding that their investment will increase efficiencies and thereby reduce the manpower requirement. Should this not be achievable, they would simply set up expanded operations in one of the other 20 countries in which they produce or yet another country.

As for the electricity production... I guess the rocket scientists on this board haven't figured out that that means we don't have to build another damn or that increased output can be resold from the BC Hydro grid for yet more profit to the province... or whoever owns Hydro these days.

Get over it and stop supporting dinosaur industry and thinking.