CORNER BROOK, N.L. — A two-week shutdown of Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limited during Christmas and the possibility of more temporary shutdowns in the future adds a layer of uncertainty to the local business community.
“Which is going to make things a little tight and a little bit worrisome to the greater Corner Brook area in 2020,” said Keith Goulding, president of the Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade.
More than mill workers will be impacted, added Goulding, noting every mill job equates to three jobs in the business sector that provides it with services.
So, if the mill has 300 people employed, there could be as many as 1,000 people servicing the mill as contractors or vendors.
“What impact is that going to have on those businesses,” wondered Goulding.
Even with the situation at the mill overshadowing the future, Goulding said there are still lots of reasons for optimism with the local economy.
Construction of the new regional hospital in Corner Brook will create a lot of opportunities here. There’s also growth occurring in the tourism sector with new hotels and the expanding microbrewery industry.
The city’s plan to purchase the street train it brought in last summer and improvements to ATV accessibility are measures to expand the city’s footprint in the tourism sector.
“We see tourism expanding all the time in the greater Corner Brook area,” said Goulding. “And I see a lot more collaboration in the entire Humber Valley.”
That’s something in which Goulding has long believed and advocated.
“I think that businesses, the business community and the community as whole needs to come together regionally for us to be stronger,” he said.
“We’ve got to work together, and we need to embrace the entrepreneurial spirit and we need to further continue to diversify.”
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Twitter: WS_DianeCrocker
