by Rob Southcott Prosperity for Powell River is something we are all interested in. But what does it mean to us? Likely jobs, enough income for life’s basics, and to enjoy our natural and cultural wealth too. These are all reasonable expectations.
Prosperity depends on an economy that works for our community. Though the mill is carrying on, albeit with wage and benefit reductions for employees, employment there has decreased by over 80 per cent since the 1970s. I expect this will continue. I wouldn’t be surprised some day to see another crisis like last year’s. The health of Catalyst Paper Corporation is controlled by Wall Street and depends on increasingly competitive international markets, not on our community, per se. I’m not very comfortable or secure with this, despite feelings of loyalty that come from three generations of my family each having spent quarter centuries working there. And, despite valiant attempts and much hard work, no other large industry has been attracted to come here either.
The challenge is: how can we pursue prosperity for Powell River? To begin, let’s look back to this community instead of looking at what lies beyond it. Perhaps this way we can see not only threats when we look at Powell River’s economy, but also resources and assets—things that are already working well. Though we often think of the mill as a main employer, there is a lot of other economic activity here as well. If we take the time to get to know what it is, we can find creative ways to nurture these additional local ventures to become stronger, more stable, and more significant contributors to our community’s economy, which is already more diverse than we may realize.
For instance, agriculture has quietly thrived here since Powell River’s beginning. We depended on it far more in the past.
Modern agribusiness producing most of our food depends heavily on oil and gas. That dependence is not indefinitely sustainable. It sends money out of our community and makes us vulnerable to global markets. To be locally resilient various initiatives are already pursuing greater local food production. They create jobs, produce healthy food, have a smaller carbon footprint, and keep our money in our community, in other words strengthening a local diverse economy.
Forestry provides another example. Powell River Community Forest Ltd. already contributes significantly to Powell River’s prosperity. Rather than exporting all our raw logs, how can we create jobs through value-added products? Local success story, Country Woodworkers, turned local wood into fine furniture for a number of years, until just recently when the increasingly challenging international economy got in the way. Its example still inspires me.
I believe our greatest resource is us—our imaginations and our desire to find ways to thrive together here. Let’s meet, let’s talk and challenge ourselves to create a prosperous future we can sustain together.
A talk by Ken Wu on raw log exports, 7 pm Wednesday, March 6, at Trinity Hall, Powell River United Church, will address some of these issues. Come, participate, and help find answers for Powell River.
Rob Southcott is a Powell Riverite who loves and appreciates the wealth and potential in our community.
