First a few observations. The population of Flin Flon has been declining. Hudbay has stated that its 777 mine in Flin Flon will be finished around 2020.
Even if another mineral deposit were to be discovered in the immediate area, I believe it would take another 10 years to delineate it and get it ready for production.
The city and school division currently share in about $6 million annually from Hudbay in lieu of taxes. Once 777 closes, Hudbay could have a significantly smaller workforce.
If, for whatever reason, Hudbay were to ever terminate its Flin Flon operations, the provincial government would wring its hands, say tut-tut, mouth a few other platitudes and do nothing to help to diversify Flin Flon’s economy.
In any case it would be much too late to do anything significant. Consider what is happening in Churchill and The Pas with the termination of grain shipments by OmniTrax and the closure of the Port of Churchill.
And don’t ignore the upcoming Tolko closure in The Pas. Or the 2018 nickel smelter and refinery closure in Thompson. Or what happened in Lynn Lake. Or Leaf Rapids. We are not immune to these economic realities.
Our previous city council appeared to recognize that we need to expand our tax base. To this end, sometimes-heated discussions were held with residents of outlying cottage areas.
The outcry from those residents: What services would be provided by the City of Flin Flon in return for municipal tax dollars? Water? Sewer? Police? Garbage pickup?
The cottage area residents have chosen to live where they are, in semi-isolation, knowing there are no municipal services. Yes, some do pay an annual fee that disappears into provincial government coffers. Flin Flon sees none of these funds.
These residents can avail themselves of the services that are established in Flin Flon. Got a toothache? Come visit one of our dentists. Need some groceries? We’ve got grocery stores. Need a prescription filled after visiting a doctor in Flin Flon? We’ve got pharmacies.
How about some live entertainment? Or some great hockey? Many communities larger than Flin Flon don’t offer these services. Municipal tax dollars don’t go towards these amenities, but our town has the infrastructure to keep them.
Which brings us to our current city council. Since they were elected, there has been no word about expanding Flin Flon’s tax base. The only way to do this is to expand the physical size of our community to include the areas occupied by the outlying residents. It has been estimated that about 1,500 people live in these areas. This year’s census will provide more accurate numbers.
I am not saying that amalgamation would be a quick, easy process. When this prospect was initially raised, there were more than a few grumpy faces around the table. And now Flin Flon council appears to have stuck its collective head in the sand by not continuing discussions with the residents of these areas.
I don’t know if they have even considered, much less planned for, a time when Hudbay may no longer provide significant opportunities for our community. And we’ll still be stuck with paying for a provincially mandated water treatment plant. And a huge new hospital emergency department that we’ll need to fork out millions of dollars for.
We need more than a pretty town in order to survive, but this appears to be a non-existent priority with our current council.
We need real economic development. And we need to expand our tax base.
Thomas Heine is a Flin Flon resident.
