Numerous qathet region job seekers and employers are facing 2023 with trepidation.
The indefinite curtailment of the Catalyst Paper Tis’kwat mill and resulting job losses is the main reason for some concerns, which are valid. But while prospective employees look for the right fit, many employers are also struggling to fill positions in the post COVID-19 restriction world.
The loss of jobs at the mill is a serious matter, but the community has been through it before. The company name may have changed multiple times over the past 30 years, but layoffs, or looming threats of job losses, have been the constant.
Communities throughout the province have been through mill closures, and our slice of the world won’t be the last. Time for change is ripe, including here on the west coast.
Our region has always been unique. Powell River Company, which originally owned the mill, flourished as much because of the isolation of the town as in spite of it. With other influences and a larger population, what it accomplished wouldn’t have been possible.
Due to the isolation, our city and regional district reap other benefits, too. Compared to the Lower Mainland, the air and water is cleaner, it’s quieter, and traffic, although Joyce and Marine avenues can have their moments, does not make people want to move away.
Surrounded by forests, we are also on the edge of wilderness, where adventures, both terrestrial and aquatic, are always mere minutes away.
Throughout the years, our community has proven to be caring and energetic, with residents going out of their way to assist those who need help, when times are tough, and also when they’re not.
As 2022 ends, change is in the wind. For the employees who lost their jobs at the mill in the past year, change is a challenge. For them, and for the people in the community who work to alleviate economic hardship, change can seem devastating.
However, change can bring opportunity and a new direction, for everyone, including businesses struggling to fill open positions, as new ideas take root and grow.
Change can mean individuals with leadership and vision can come to the forefront and make their ideas known. Change can mean new plans based on the collective strength and wisdom of people who live here.
Change can breed optimism as well as pessimism. Let’s at least start the year focusing on the former.
As people throughout the community ring in the new year and face the inevitable change that’s on the way, history indicates we will adapt. We always have, because there is no other choice.
Happy New Year!
