I would like to ask you to give me your advice on a very specific thing, and I will use my riding, the riding of Kenora.
We have a huge pulp and paper mill sitting there. It's a brand-new facility from a brand-new investment of about $350 million in the last few years. It's very similar to what's out in Prince Albert. There is a bright future for these things. You mentioned--and I don't think you meant to--that forestry is tied dramatically to the housing crisis in the United States right now. Well, that's just one factor. A factor equally big is what's going on in B.C. with the pine beetle, energy costs, and high fibre costs. All the things we know, and what forecasters like you say, is that out in the future there is going to be an industry there for us.
I live in Dryden. We had 1,200 workers in the plant five years ago. We have 300 now working half-time. That facility will run full-time, so you can't move those workers out. I think we've put words in your mouth, maybe, by saying “relocation”. I'm not sure that's what you meant. You meant move them to where the jobs are, but hopefully not forever.
What I want to know, before you answer, because I'm going to be cut off, is what you do in situations like that. There is a place for the federal government, especially when it has resources. They can help those companies. They can help them get ready through technology upgrades. If you're familiar with the term “closing the loop”, in big pulp and paper mills.... The pulp and paper mill that's there cannot run by itself. It's facing tough issues in softwood, meaning that if they can't sell lumber close by, they can't get the cheap chips. These are integrated systems. They all have to work together so they work properly.
So what do you do in a circumstance like that? There is opportunity. The government does have money. They can do the technology upgrades and close the loops, protect the environment, and protect the water resources that are there. That's what should be done now, because 24 to 36 months out, there will be jobs in those communities.