Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Ladies and gentlemen of the committee, we are pleased to finally have the chance to officially speak to this proposed order and we thank you for this opportunity.
For our workers, our community members and our communities in Haute‑Côte‑Nord, a terrible countdown started from the moment this order was announced on June 18. Since the announcement, our lives have been on hold. Our joie de vivre has been replaced with anxiety, worry and concern.
Our community has lived through tough times and poverty before. Between 1982 and 1985, after three successive failed attempts to operate the wood-processing facilities in Sacré‑Coeur, many locals suffered hardships. Many were forced to turn to employment insurance, social assistance or other similar sources of assistance that chip away at human dignity. Obviously, our community was the theatre of social problems, bankruptcies, mental distress, separations, divorces and an increased use of substances such as alcohol and drugs.
Fortunately, courage and determination remained alive and well despite everything. Let me explain.
Following the third failure and subsequent bankruptcy in 1982, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce repossessed the assets in collateral. The only offer it received was to dismantle the facilities. The people of our community rejected that fate and refused to give up. They stood in solidarity and banded together. They did not hesitate to block the roads for days, even weeks on end. That is how they made themselves heard and were able to put in an offer of purchase based on an original, unedited collective ownership model involving two workers' co‑operatives, namely COFOR and UNISACO, as well as an investment firm held by community members called Investra. In 1985, roughly 600 workers and community members gambled everything on setting up this collective ownership model. Today, 40 years later, more than 1,100 member workers and community investors participate in the collective ownership of the Boisaco group.
It is important to understand that the mission of the Boisaco group is to act as a driver of sustainable and responsible development to ensure the social, economic, environmental and cultural vitality of our community. In keeping with that mission, over the years seven primary, secondary and tertiary processing companies joined the Boisaco group ecosystem: Sacopan, Ripco, Bersaco, Granulco, Valibois, Forrestco and Les Bois du Fjord. All of this is owned collectively.
La Haute‑Côte‑Nord is our community. It is a region that consolidates roughly 10,500 people and is one of the most disadvantaged municipalities in Quebec. It goes without saying that all of our strengths are important, that we must protect them and continue to develop new ones.
It is important to know that the forest management practised in Quebec earns internationally recognized certifications and that Quebec's forestry system is among the strictest and most robust in the world. What is more, several auditors from around the world made this observation when they came to audit us. It is important to us to contribute to the sustainable and responsible development of our forests and to provide some of the most ecologically sound products around that Canadians need, including for building their homes.
The forest is our past, our present and our future. It is our way of life. This has been part of our culture for multiple generations and we are proud of it.
To us, work is a right that allows people to live in dignity, support their family and have a sense of accomplishment. If the order is adopted, 600 direct jobs will disappear, leading to the loss of more than $200 million in annual spinoffs for our community. It is unthinkable. The impact this will have on people has to be taken into account. This order must not be adopted.
Thank you very much.
