Financially ailing Manitoba town desperate for help
The town of Powerview-Pine Falls has been struggling since Tembec shuttered its paper mill two years ago, throwing some 250 people out of work
Now councillors say the town's infrastructure is crumbling, they are facing growing financial pressure, and they're getting virtually no help from the province.
As well, the town is now looking for its third chief administrative officer in five years.
Town council voted during a special meeting on Sept. 23 to make an application for a provincial administrator to govern the community's affairs.
In a statement issued late Friday, the Town of Powerview-Pine Falls said the provincial government does not believe the community is in the "financial crisis" that councillors believe is imminent.
The province says it will meet with the Powerview-Pine Falls council to look at how it can help.
Ron Lemieux, the minister responsible for local government, says he hopes to meet later this month.
"We would want to ensure that the citizens of that community have local councillors and elected people that they put in place to look after their needs and their wants," Lemieux told CBC News.
Lemieux said he hopes the town's situation has not reached the point in which a provincial administrator is necessary.
"To have someone appointed as administrator is in really severe situations where communities are not solvent and financially they are essentially bankrupt," he said.
"Financially they're relatively stable, at least at this point … but they see some upcoming costs into the future that made them extremely nervous."
Mass resignation delayed
In its statement, the town says Lemieux's upcoming visit to the community will delay the mass resignation of its council.
According to the town, councillors had told the minister they would resign en masse on Oct. 9 in their bid to force the province into appointing an administrator.
"Council believes they have no other alternative but to go the 'lack of quorum' route to force the province's hand – ie: mass resignation," the town's statement reads in part.
"Council does not view this action as 'quitting.' They believe this is an all out effort on their part to get some help."
After Powerview and Pine Falls amalgamated in 2005, the town's future initially looked promising until the Tembec mill was shut down.
"The debt load started to skyrocket [$2 million plus], while assessments nose dived. The burden of tax shifted from the industry to the residents of Pine Falls," the town's statement reads in part.
Council tried earlier this year to talk about amalgamating with the Rural Municipality of Alexander, but that municipality wasn't interested.
Wayne Ewasko, the Progressive Conservative MLA for Lac du Bonnet, said it's about time the NDP government offers Powerview-Pine Falls a helping hand.
"We've been voicing our opinions for quite some time, and it's time they step up and help out," he said.
'You got to do something,' says resident
Many Powerview-Pine Falls residents who spoke to CBC News about the situation were a little surprised to hear their council had invited the province to take over.
However, some residents also pointed out that desperate times call for desperate measures.
"Well, what do you do when there's no money, you know? You got to do something," said Alain Desloges.
"Maybe they do need some help from the government. I don't know."
Gord Cure, who has lived in the town for 40 years, said so far he hasn’t seen the province step in to help.
“Diddly squat. Nothing. That’s what I would say. I haven’t seen nothing that it would appear to me that they did [help the town.] They never helped us whatsoever,” he said.
"They give $85 million to the Winnipeg stadium, so what the heck? Why not give a few bucks to our town?"