The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
It's been quite some time since there was this much uncertainty gushing through the community like a tidal wave. Layoffs from the smelter closure on the horizon. Layoffs from the transfer of HBMS workers from Snow Lake to Flin Flon. Unconfirmed (though widespread) rumours of a summer-long shutdown of the company's Flin Flon operations. It wasn't that long ago that Flin Flon appeared on the brink of doing something it hasn't done in decades: grow. Now with HBMS shedding up to 400 jobs between Flin Flon and Snow Lake, we're faced with the prospect of yet another population drop, one that could number in the hundreds but will hopefully be minimal. In such times of difficulty, we look to our civic leaders. In this vein, it is advisable for Flin Flon City Hall to immediately hold a town hall meeting. Its purpose would be to guide council as to which steps they should take in this capricious climate, until it is known just how all of this bad news from HBMS will play out. Should there be a freeze on non-essential spending? Do budget items that might have made some sense a year ago, such as installing water meters in every home, carry the same weight now that times have changed? And what about economic development? The city can certainly do more in this regard. It's true that many economic development projects never bear fruit, but some do, and the way things are going, Flin Flon needs all of the job-creation opportunities it can get. Less tangibly, a town hall meeting would give residents a much-needed outlet to express their fears and frustrations. It's a scary time for everyone, and an opportunity to be heard is vital. Surprisingly, it is rare that roomfuls of people get the chance to tell their elected officials exactly how they feel. This raises the obvious question of whether council can have a full understanding of what we are thinking. Of course there are no barriers to offering council our input at present, but a town hall meeting called specifically to discuss the situation we all face would ensure broad, timely input. That kind of meeting is needed now more than ever, not only in Flin Flon, but also in Creighton and Denare Beach. We're all in this together. Local Angle runs Fridays.
