Three Towns

Quesnel, B.C.

Located in the heart of the B.C. Interior, Quesnel is home to 9,326 people, according to the 2006 census. That's a decline of 7.1 per cent from the 2001 census, when slightly more than 10,000 people lived in the town.

Despite the drop in population, Quesnel and the surrounding region are enjoying an economic boom. The median family income in 2000 was $52,372, while the average salary was $29,915.

The unemployment rate dropped from 13.4 per cent in 2000 to 5.5 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2004. Jobs are plentiful and the forestry industry is working at full tilt.

But dark clouds are looming. Quesnel is at the epicentre of the worst mountain pine beetle outbreak in North American history. The six-millimetre-long insect has always had a hunger for the mature lodgepole pines of the province's interior forests.

By 2013, B.C.'s Ministry of Forests and Range predicts the beetle will destroy 80 per cent of the marketable pine in the central and southern interior forests. Half of the pine is expected to have been wrecked by the summer of 2007.

The province has boosted its quotes, allowing loggers to cut down more trees than usual to salvage marketable lumber before the bug finishes its work.

Meanwhile, the Sierra Club of B.C. is calling on the province to immediately reduce the amount of allowable logging in the region.

The call comes in the wake of the release of a report by the province's Forest Practices Board. The report warned that the pine beetle epidemic would significantly increase the size and frequency of floods in the Interior Plateau, a large area that lies between the Coast Mountains and the Rocky and Columbia ranges.

Stephenville, N.L.

Located in the Bay St. George area of Newfoundland's west coast, Stephenville is home to 6,588 people, according to the 2006 census. That's down by more than 500 people, or 7.3 per cent, from the 2001 census.

The region has been hit hard by an uncertain economy. The unemployment rate hovers at near 20 per cent. In 2000, the median family income was $14,029, while the average salary was $24,395.

The Abitibi Consolidated mill provided 300 well-paying jobs as recently as 2002. But a rising Canadian dollar, soaring electricity rates and high fibre costs meant trouble for the mill.

On July 27, 2005, the company announced that the mill would be closing. For many, the only choice was to leave home to find work.

Stephenville has a history of battling back from adversity. The United States operated an airbase there during the Second World War and it provided jobs for the community. When the base shut down for good in 1966, 14,000 people lived in Stephenville.

While the population base has steadily declined, the town has continued to develop. The airport has served as a refuelling stop for civilian and military aircraft, and hopes to do so again. During the al-Qaeda attacks on the United States on Sept. 11, 2001, several passenger aircraft were diverted to Stephenville.

Red Rock, Ont.

Located on the shore of Lake Superior nearly 100 kilometres east of Thunder Bay, Red Rock is home to 1,063 people, according to the 2006 census. That's a drop of 170 people, or 13.8 per cent, from the last census in 2001.

Red Rock has long been a one-industry town, relying on the fortunes of the paper mill that was eventually bought by the North American Paper Company. Norampac was formed by the 1998 merger of two forestry giants, Domtar Ltd. and Cascades Inc. At its peak, the mill employed 750 people in high-paying jobs.

In 2000, the median family income was $74,660, and the average salary was $38,223. The unemployment rate was 5.4 per cent.

The combined effects of a rising Canadian dollar and higher electricity rates spelled renewed trouble for the mill beginning in 2004. Keeping the mill powered ate up 30 per cent of its operating budget. Upgrading the mill became prohibitively expensive and on Aug. 30, 2006, Norampac announced it was shutting down the operation.

The news came as a shock in a community where every resident had some connection, direct or indirect, with the mill. It was officially idled on Nov. 23, 2006, and an eerie quiet settled over the town.

Idling the mill as opposed to closing it left open the possibility that the mill could resume production, if the company decides to put it back online. An employee still keeps watch on the operation and a boiler is left running to keep essential machinery warm.