The Red Rock mill was closed by Cascades Inc. in November 2006. It was purchased by North American Logistics in September 2007, but no immediate plan was announced in terms of when the plant might reopen.

When the paper mill in Red Rock, Ont., closed last November, many residents feared the close-knit community on the north shore of Lake Superior would become a ghost town. But recent job prospects and new faces are bringing cautious optimism to the community.

"There's hope where there was none before," says Red Rock's Lisa Cates.

Residents say new families have moved into town in recent months, drawn by a low cost of living and affordable housing. School enrolment remains steady and residents are exploring new sources of revenue, such as eco-tourism, for their livelihood.

Now the possibility of the mill reopening under new ownership has some in Red Rock hopeful that a recovery may be around the corner.

At a press conference held at the Red Rock Inn on Sept. 7, Hubert Bolduc, vice-president of communications and public affairs for Cascades Inc., announced the sale of Red Rock's idled mill to Brampton Ont.– based shipping company, North American Logistics.

The Red Rock mill, which employed 450 people, was idled indefinitely in October 2006 because of economic conditions, including the rising Canadian dollar. The reopening promises to bring 110 jobs back to the town, though according to North American Logistics president Robert Van Patten that won't happen until October 2008.

North American Logistics is rumoured to be in talks with Nipigon-based Multiply Plywood about manufacturing hardwood flooring products at the Red Rock mill.

While the announcement promises an economic lift for the troubled community, many residents say they will remain skeptical until actual jobs start appearing. While he's been outspoken about his confidence in the town's prospects in the past, Red Rock Mayor Sam Sobush did not return calls requesting comment.

Shelley Boudreau, co-ordinator at the Red Rock Job Action Centre, says she has an "I'll believe when I see it" attitude.

Leaving town

The economic decline of 2007 has already taken a toll on the town.

Boudreau says that after the Red Rock mill closed and the sawmill in neighbouring Nipigon burned down several weeks later, many residents didn't wait for good news and instead started seeking new employment opportunities immediately. According to the Job Action Centre, at least 24 former mill workers and their families have packed up and left the area so far this year.

Many of the smaller, cheaper homes in Red Rock sold quickly as younger people with fewer ties to the region found work elsewhere. But almost half of those who moved either chose not to sell their homes or couldn't find buyers.

Some breadwinners left their families at home in Red Rock but travelled to Alberta's booming oil patch, doing the "six and two" in places like Fort McMurray — working six straight weeks then returning home for two weeks. Others left for work in neighbouring communities.

Staying in Red Rock has meant compromises for some. When housing prices plummeted, the Cates family couldn't afford to sell their home and relocate. Bart Cates is one of 10 Norampac tradesmen who found work at a paper mill in Terrace Bay, about 90 kilometres to the east. Almost a year later, Cates is still working in Terrace Bay. He makes the 120-kilometre commute weekly, staying for three days and then driving home to spend two days with his family.

"It's a job," says Lisa Cates. But she hopes the mill's reopening will bring work back to Red Rock.

Newcomers bring business, families to Red Rock

Red Rock hasn't become the ghost town many feared in the wake of the mill closure, for a number of reasons.

The mill's shutdown caused house values to plummet as For Sale signs sprouted on every street through the spring and summer. During the summer months, at least one dwelling sold in the $15,000 range. That forced many to stay in Red Rock, and at the same time provided opportunities for newcomers to move into the town.

"People are selling their home for $200,000 in southern Ontario, buying a place for $30,000 to $50,000 here and living off the difference," says Michael Nitz, president of the Nipigon Chamber of Commerce.

Nitz says the newcomers bring investment, as well as customers for the existing local businesses.

School enrolment remains strong

After the mill closures, some locals had predicted that families would see out the school year in Red Rock, then relocate over the summer to areas where they could find work. But Lise Haman, director of education for the Superior-Greenstone District School Board, said that based on September's numbers, this year's projected enrolment for the elementary school and high school in Red Rock remains strong.

"Based on what we're seeing here, we're not displeased," says Haman.

Final numbers aren't available until Oct. 31, but Haman said the elementary school has 70 students enrolled, down from 80 last September.

Nipigon Red Rock Secondary School, which serves four townships including Red Rock, as well as the Catholic school board, also has 10 fewer students, down from 259 last September to 249 this fall.

Haman thinks the slight change in enrolment actually has little to do with the mill closing. Instead, she says it's part of a general population decline across northern Ontario.

"The decline over the last 10 years is incredible. There are towns where every other house is up for sale."

And that gradual decline, while not as shocking as a sudden drop, is having an impact on local education. Haman says the Superior-Greenstone District School Board has to look for creative solutions to teach a decreasing student population over a large area. "We offer courses over video conferencing, one teacher serving students over different communities."

New opportunities for entrepreneurship in Red Rock

On the business front, people aren't pinning all their hopes on a reopening of the mill in one form or another. Nitz, for example, hopes a cottage industry of adventure businesses offering things such as mountain-biking, off-roading, kayaking, snowmobiling and other outdoor outings will emerge in time. Some startups of this type have sprung up already, run by former mill employees as well as newcomers.

"'I've talked to a lot of new tourists to Red Rock," says Nitz.

Still, Nitz admits business in general was slow this summer in the region. He says it's too early to tell how life in Red Rock will change in the coming months, but he remains positive: "It's not going to be a ghost town," he says confidently.

Lisa Cates shares the cautious optimism, saying her family has no intention of leaving Red Rock. Lisa's parents live in the town, and while both their own daughters left for university elsewhere in Ontario at the beginning of September, Lisa wants Red Rock to be the home they return to at the end of the semester.

As for the prospect of the mill reopening, she says, "Hopefully this is the start of something better for Red Rock."

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