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.
Over the past 15 years, the people of Snow Lake watched with sadness as Elm Street businesses closed their doors, their signs came down and buildings fell into disrepair. Who could forget that overcast day in March of 2008 when the community watched in silence as the high hoe bit into the roof of the Northern Store, then leveled it over the ensuing day or so? It was a business that had been with us for decades and it was gone in an instant. The closing of our mines brought to light the reality of a smaller community _ but never dimmed our aspirations or killed our hope. So when a new sign went up on Elm during the early days of February, people were stirred by it. There was some excitement in the voices of those who pointed it out, and people actually stopped and watched as it went up! One could say that as a community, we were all happy to see the empty holder on the Snow Sound Building filled with the sign of a company that is no stranger to Snow Lake _ J.S. Redpath Ltd. Not lost on any of us is the fact that Redpath is a company that is showing confidence in the community and backing it up by placing their only Canadian office, outside of Ontario and Quebec, on our main street! The noteworthy thing about this office opening is the assurance and certainty it brings to the community. Redpath is no small operation. In addition to their headquarters in North Bay, the mining and engineering contractor currently has regional Canadian offices in Rouyn-Noranda, PQ, Timmins, ON, Sudbury, ON, and Red Lake, ON, as well as a global workforce that has reached 6,200 personnel worldwide. Included in that number are the approximately 50 personnel working at Lalor and the two people who will staff their Snow Lake office. The obvious question when contemplating this situation is, why Snow Lake? Redpath's vice-president of Canadian operations, Paul Healy, answered that query. 'Redpath have been working with Hudbay at the Lalor Project since 2009 and we want to ensure we are able to provide the resources required for continued success,' said Healy in a recent e-mail. 'It also provides a central location to support potential future work in the Snow Lake, Flin Flon and Thompson regions. Our intention is to remain in the region for a long time.' Healy says the company is currently developing the access drift from the Lalor vent shaft to the production shaft. 'In addition, we will be excavating a series of vertical sumps and ore silos, as well associated miscellaneous construction work,' he said. See 'Move...' on pg. 11 Continued from pg. 9 When asked for his thoughts on the newest addition to Main Street, Mayor Clarence Fisher noted how pleased the Town is to have Redpath setting up an office in Snow Lake. 'To us, this is one of the first of what we hope are many more businesses of all types that will be joining us in the community,' said Fisher, noting that the town did nothing to woo Redpath into moving here. 'They could have gone to any community in the province and they decided to come here.' Fisher says he gets asked a lot about other businesses moving into Snow Lake, and explains that through the community development officer, the Town is actively pursuing a number of businesses of different types. 'For example, I would love to see more professional services, such as a dentist, a lawyer and an optometrist, come here,' Fisher disclosed. 'As well, we could use more retail businesses of almost any type. 'In the end, much of this has to do with our overall population. Many businesses will not consider opening up new shops until the population of a community reaches a certain point. We continue to stay in touch with a number of people and promote Snow Lake as a great place to do business with great opportunities available.' For their part, it appears that Redpath will do for Snow Lake on a community level what they do for mine owners in their underground operations several levels below, that is, blaze the trail for others! 'Redpath sees a prosperous future for mining in northern Manitoba and we want to be part of it for many years to come,' said Healy. My Take on Snow Lake runs Fridays.
