The Newfoundland and Labrador government has formally begun the process of providing $35 million to laid-off workers from AbitibiBowater (TSX:ABH).
The government says it has reached an agreement with unions on rolling out severance and other benefits to about 800 people from the paper mill in Grand Falls-Windsor.
The financial help, first announced in May, will be provided to unionized and non-unionized mill workers, as well as others involved in logging operations.
The government said today that union officials will contact the displaced workers to schedule information sessions and distribute applications.
The Montreal-based company closed the mill in central Newfoundland and has not provided severance after filing for bankruptcy protection from creditors in Canada and the States.
The province passed legislation in December to expropriate the mill's assets and water and timber rights, despite the company's objections.
N.L. government launches severance process for laid-off AbitibiBowater workers
- Published on July 22nd, 2009
- Published on June 30th, 2010
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The Canadian Press
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Comments
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- Disgusted
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:25:28
How can the government justify paying $35 million to these workers? the company they work for went under...it happens all the time. but that doesn't mean government should spend the tax payers money to bail them out. go find another job and stop begging the government for hand outs.
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- Nasty
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:20:55
A Fine Time said - That's $43,750 each!
Guess he failed to deduct taxes, EI repayment, interest on credit cards that YES people needed to use to pay bills and eat. Looks like not one of them is any further ahead at the end of the day.
I bet you took in more on your welfare cheques last year than these people will take home out of all this, and it bothers you that your cheque did not go up.
Give it up, go back to your beer that I paid for and keep the silly comments to yourself. Last time I looked the only taxes you paid in this province was for your beer. -
- A Fine Time
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:19:42
Wow. So let's crunch the numbers here: 35 million dollars divvyed up amongst 800 workers. That's $43,750 each. Not too shabby. But how much you wanna bet they'll demand (and probably get) more.
Time to unzip my taxpayers' wallet again perchance?? -
- colbourne
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:17:52
You naysayers are forgetting that the province became a player when it recalled the company's forest and water rights and expropriated its hydro generation infrastructure .So why wouldn't the province have some responsibility .What short memories you have , remember the billions paid out to fishermen in the moratorium cod shutdown , or more recently the infusion of dollars into the shrimp industry .The first payout was necessary because of a decline in fish stocks and the second solely a buyers / harvester problem, neither of which could be directly attributable to any level of government .How come we don't hear you criticizing those fisheries support gestures, or maybe you or your family members even benefited from those gratuitous payouts ? This province is more than a fishing province .let's not forget that .
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- ½ wit
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:17:12
A very bad precedent.
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- colbourne
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:16:37
Read this one too boys which just proves my point re forestry vs. fishery ................My tax dollars pay for this and I haven't a clue what a yellowtail is .Perhaps , a new species of bird ?
The Centre for Aquaculture Seafood and Development (CASD) is getting money to put the yellowtail fishery under a microscope and make it more sustainable.
The province announced this morning it will provide up to $100,000, as part of the Fishing Industry Renewal Strategy.
The yellowtail initiative is part of a larger project being conducted by a number of fisheries research organizations and Ocean Choice International.
That three-year project is valued at $1.4 million and will examine three different areas of the yellowtail fishery, including harvesting, processing and knowledge management.
The portion funded by the Department of Fisheries will examine processing aspects of the harvest.
It is important to always seek opportunities to improve the quality of our seafood products. We are operating in a very competitive global marketplace and every edge we can achieve will help to ensure a more sustainable fishing industry into the future, said Fisheries Minister Tom Hedderson in a release.
The project is being carried out at the Marine Institute through the CASD. -
- Bones II
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:14:56
The profit from expropriated assets will cover the amount here, plus gobs more over its lifetime. While it IS a taxpayers' resource, it could have just as easily ended up belonging to a brand new U.S. owner, had expropriation not occurred. AB will HAVE to repay if it manages to ever exist again as a profitable company and, we currently have NL assets taking direct care of NL'ers through the NL government and a union. I consider this very significant. The 800 in question benefited from this while AB owned the thing, why not now? I don't see the problem with an NL resource taking care of NL'ers. Future profits will, no doubt, reach well beyond the immediate area, and should be considered as well. Any other scenario involving this asset would have had to be a negative one, and would have begun with those 800 being left high and dry with NO resource to back them up.
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- My
- - July 2nd, 2010 at 13:13:15
I do feel badly for the workers at Grand Falls. However, I do not think this is the role of government.
People pay taxes for services for the whole population, not special one-off deals. Many individuals and groups are hurt by economic downturns. Its a free market system and those things happen. Government already has programs that our Taxes do pay for, such as E.I. and welfare. Government also provides subsidies to many community service groups that also help displaced and hard luck cases.
Sorry, but enough already. -
- Disgusted
- - July 1st, 2010 at 20:11:48
How can the government justify paying $35 million to these workers? the company they work for went under...it happens all the time. but that doesn't mean government should spend the tax payers money to bail them out. go find another job and stop begging the government for hand outs.
-
- Nasty
- - July 1st, 2010 at 20:04:02
A Fine Time said - That's $43,750 each!
Guess he failed to deduct taxes, EI repayment, interest on credit cards that YES people needed to use to pay bills and eat. Looks like not one of them is any further ahead at the end of the day.
I bet you took in more on your welfare cheques last year than these people will take home out of all this, and it bothers you that your cheque did not go up.
Give it up, go back to your beer that I paid for and keep the silly comments to yourself. Last time I looked the only taxes you paid in this province was for your beer. -
- A Fine Time
- - July 1st, 2010 at 20:01:55
Wow. So let's crunch the numbers here: 35 million dollars divvyed up amongst 800 workers. That's $43,750 each. Not too shabby. But how much you wanna bet they'll demand (and probably get) more.
Time to unzip my taxpayers' wallet again perchance?? -
- colbourne
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:58:49
You naysayers are forgetting that the province became a player when it recalled the company's forest and water rights and expropriated its hydro generation infrastructure .So why wouldn't the province have some responsibility .What short memories you have , remember the billions paid out to fishermen in the moratorium cod shutdown , or more recently the infusion of dollars into the shrimp industry .The first payout was necessary because of a decline in fish stocks and the second solely a buyers / harvester problem, neither of which could be directly attributable to any level of government .How come we don't hear you criticizing those fisheries support gestures, or maybe you or your family members even benefited from those gratuitous payouts ? This province is more than a fishing province .let's not forget that .
-
- ½ wit
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:57:37
A very bad precedent.
-
- colbourne
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:56:41
Read this one too boys which just proves my point re forestry vs. fishery ................My tax dollars pay for this and I haven't a clue what a yellowtail is .Perhaps , a new species of bird ?
The Centre for Aquaculture Seafood and Development (CASD) is getting money to put the yellowtail fishery under a microscope and make it more sustainable.
The province announced this morning it will provide up to $100,000, as part of the Fishing Industry Renewal Strategy.
The yellowtail initiative is part of a larger project being conducted by a number of fisheries research organizations and Ocean Choice International.
That three-year project is valued at $1.4 million and will examine three different areas of the yellowtail fishery, including harvesting, processing and knowledge management.
The portion funded by the Department of Fisheries will examine processing aspects of the harvest.
It is important to always seek opportunities to improve the quality of our seafood products. We are operating in a very competitive global marketplace and every edge we can achieve will help to ensure a more sustainable fishing industry into the future, said Fisheries Minister Tom Hedderson in a release.
The project is being carried out at the Marine Institute through the CASD. -
- Bones II
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:54:08
The profit from expropriated assets will cover the amount here, plus gobs more over its lifetime. While it IS a taxpayers' resource, it could have just as easily ended up belonging to a brand new U.S. owner, had expropriation not occurred. AB will HAVE to repay if it manages to ever exist again as a profitable company and, we currently have NL assets taking direct care of NL'ers through the NL government and a union. I consider this very significant. The 800 in question benefited from this while AB owned the thing, why not now? I don't see the problem with an NL resource taking care of NL'ers. Future profits will, no doubt, reach well beyond the immediate area, and should be considered as well. Any other scenario involving this asset would have had to be a negative one, and would have begun with those 800 being left high and dry with NO resource to back them up.
-
- My
- - July 1st, 2010 at 19:51:07
I do feel badly for the workers at Grand Falls. However, I do not think this is the role of government.
People pay taxes for services for the whole population, not special one-off deals. Many individuals and groups are hurt by economic downturns. Its a free market system and those things happen. Government already has programs that our Taxes do pay for, such as E.I. and welfare. Government also provides subsidies to many community service groups that also help displaced and hard luck cases.
Sorry, but enough already.
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