The provincial government is indicating support to Ear Falls following the closure of Interfor’s sawmill.
The company’s decision last week impacted 160 employees.
The government’s Associate Minister of Forestry says he’s disappointed by Interfor’s decision.
Kevin Holland says they have since spoken to the company and Mayor Kevin Kahoot.
“Immediately following the announcement of the shutdown of the mill, the Premier and I reached out to company officials and Mayor Kahoot, offering support for the workers and the community”.
Holland did not elaborate on the specifics of the support offered.
He did say that Ontario’s forest workers are impacted by the weak markets and the implementation of U.S. tariffs and duties.
The U.S. government last week increased duties on Canadian softwood lumber from 10% to 45%.
Hollard says while the province is working to protect the forest industry, it also needs federal assistance.
“We need Ottawa to work with us to deliver real solutions by addressing the issues causing turmoil in our forestry sector and engaging in real negotiations with the U.S. president,” says Hollard.
Thunder Bay-Superior North MPP Lise Vaugoios says the province needs a strategy to modernize and strengthen its forest sector.
“Forestry is integrated, and when one part collapses, the whole industry is at risk,” says Vaugeois.
“We knew sawmills were in trouble when the pulp mill in Terrace Bay shut down. We have the best lumber and best pulp in the world, produced by skilled workers. Their jobs must be saved.”
Holland notes that the government has invested over $150 million to modernize mills, lower costs, and help operations stay competitive.
“Through programs like the Forest Sector Investment and Innovation Program and the Forest Biomass Program. We’re helping companies upgrade equipment, expand markets and find new uses for mill byproducts, turning unused wood into economic opportunity,” says Holland.
Members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) met outside the office of Kevin Holland, MPP for Thunder Bay-Atikokan to protest the provincial government’s public service cuts.
While tens of thousands of OPSEU members are currently on strike as Ontario public college support staff, an additional 150,000 members in sectors including teaching and healthcare are currently in bargaining with the province.
At the center of OPSEU’s conflict with the Ontario government is Bill 124, which in 2019 limited pay increases for public sector workers to 1% annually. Though the law was repealed after Ontario courts ruled it unconstitutional last year, public service employees continue to feel as though they’ve fallen behind after years of high inflation rates.
OPSEU strikers rallying outside the office of Kevin Holland, MPP Thunder Bay-Atikokan, September 17, 2025
An attack on working people
Representatives from OPSEU consistently voiced the belief that these provincial cuts to public services are designed to bring about the degradation and privatization of public services.
“We’re very concerned that they’re about to try to close colleges or privatize colleges,” said OPSEU president JP Hornick. “Meaning more and more students are going to get left behind.”
Hornick referenced the closure of 650 public college programs: “This is something that should be striking fear in the hearts of Ontarians.”
JP Hornick, president of OPSEU, at a rally outside Kevin Holland’s office on September 17, 2025.
Carlos Santander-Maturana, president of the Thunder Bay and District Labour Council, echoed the feelings of Hornick. Asked about the public service cuts, Santander-Maturana pointed to the high inflation rates of the past few years – particularly in areas of basic necessity like food.
“Rent is skyrocketing, mortgages are high, and it’s very difficult for workers to make ends meet. Many of them have to start looking for a second or third job in order to pay the bill, so any cuts to wages and salaries are going to be felt by working families.”
“There is no question this is an attack on working people,” continued Santander-Maturana.
NDP MPP Lise Vaugeois, representative for Thunder Bay-Superior North, attended the rally in support of OPSEU. In alignment with the general theme of the day, she accused the Ford government of underfunding colleges with calculated purpose, with spending cuts “to the tune of at least $10,000 per student.”
A particularly stinging loss for Thunder Bay was the now-cancelled culinary program at Confederation College, which Vaugeois said was important for restaurants in the community.
Nobody’s Listening
Asked whether OPSEU had heard anything from the office of MPP Kevin Holland, JP Hornick stated they’d heard “nothing but crickets.”
“He’s not very keen on meeting with people who will have opposing political points of view,” said Carlos Santander-Maturana.
This reporter contacted the office of MPP Kevin Holland for a response, but at press time had yet to receive a comment.
Owen Smith, president of OPSEU Local 731, in a costume outside the office of MPP Kevin Holland on September 17, 2025.
President Owen Smith of OPSEU Local 731 could be seen in a tongue-in-cheek costume meant to call out CEO Graham Lloyd of the College Employer Council. OPSEU’s negotiations with the College Employer Council have been at a standstill for more than a week.
Asked whether he felt the provincial government was listening, Smith said no. “It’s sad that it seems to be falling on deaf ears, that we have to go on strike to get people to take notice.”
Smith maintains that the striking OPSEU public college support staff want to go back to work.
“People are falling behind… it’s unfair,” said Smith. Referencing the 10,000 layoffs of public college support staff, representing one-fifth of staff in the sector, Smith said workers were stressed by the large reduction in staffing.
“We’re trying to do more with less… Overtime is not allowed in most departments. So how do we keep up? We can’t. Things are going to fall through the cracks for us, and specifically at colleges, students are going to fall through the cracks.”
The Sustainable CAP is a joint venture between Canada’s federal and provincial governments to help support investments in the country’s agriculture and food (agri-food) industries.
Luis Alves, owner of Superior Foods, was joined by Ontario Associate Minister Kevin Holland on Friday at the business to announce the partnership.
Luis Alves, owner of Superior Foods, pictured left, and Ontario Associate Minister for forestry and forestry products, MPP Kevin Holland (Thunder Bay—Atikokan), pictured right.
The Sustainable CAP’s Food Safety and Growth Initiative is a $4.4 million investment that will cover 50% of a small business investment in food safety, traceability, and general growth of the Agri-food industry up to $75,000.
Mr. Alves of Superior Foods has used the partnership to invest in new meat packaging and labelling machinery, which he hopes will allow the facility to do more business with locals.
“The big opportunity, I think, is in the meat industry,” says Alves. “Thunder Bay is well set with the farmland that’s here, that’s perfect for raising cattle. That’s being underutilized.”
Alves says for the local farmers, the bottleneck to growth is in the city’s processing facilities. He hopes that the new upgrades to Superior Foods allow for more local meat processing.
Luis Alves, pictured right, shows Associate Minister Holland, pictured left, the labelling process for meat packages.
The Sustainable CAP was created long before Canada’s trade war with the United States, but it takes on new importance in the current context.
“It’s all about growing our local agri-business here: you know, grow-local-buy-local type things,” says Associate Minister Holland.
He adds, “If we’re growing and selling and consuming local foods, it’s not subject to tariffs. So this is just great to support the Agri-food business in Northwest Ontario and provide them another opportunity to get that beef and pork processed, packaged, and distributed to our stores for consumers.”
