Quinte West Council has received new information about the impact of the closure of a local paper mill on the community.
During Wednesday’s council meeting, members of council received a report from Quinte West Chief Administrative Officer David Clazie with details about how the closure of the Cascades paper mill in Trenton ward will impact the surrounding community.
The closure of the Trenton plant comes along with the closure of another paper mill in Belleville, and a third owned by the same company in Connecticut.
Between the Trenton and Belleville plants, close to 230 employees have lost their jobs. At the Trenton plant, 100 employees have already been laid off. Another 40 will continue to work until April 12. Affected employees are receiving assistance from Service Canada, and while a partnership between their former employer and the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training, and Skills Development to assist the former workers is being considered, there is no timeline established for when that could be ready.
The Cascades plant was a major municipal taxpayer as well as a water/wastewater customer, and the loss of the plant is expected to cost the municipality a lot in lost taxes. The plant paid $263,324 in municipal taxes in 2023, which could be severely reduced in future years if the plant remains idle. The plant was also billed $851,497 for water and wastewater services in 2023, with most of that expected to be lost in 2024 and all in 2025.
Future uses of the site are facing challenges, as any redevelopment of the area will require an environmental review. The report also states that extensive cleanup of the property may be needed due to contamination before the site can be redeveloped for non-industrial use.
Council accepted the report, without debate.
