John Gaudi: The colours of vibrancy have disappeared from Lab West

The mood in Lab West is sombre these days an area long known for its prosperity and strong sense of community slowly buckles under the strain of a severe economic downturn. The CBC's John Gaudi writes about his recent visit to the area.

John Gaudi · CBC News · Posted: May 02, 2015 5:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: May 2, 2015

This painting by M.H. Poirier is displayed prominently in the lobby of the Two Seasons Inn in Labrador City. It illustrates Labrador West during more prosperous times, when the iron ore industry was humming and the area was upbeat and confident. (John Gaudi/CBC)

A painting of the IOC mine hangs in the Two Seasons Inn lobby in Labrador City. A friend of the hotel owner painted it, I'm told. One M.H. Poirier.

It shows the Labrador City mine in its glory: heavy machines digging and hauling iron ore, thick smoke curling up to the sky, folks on the job.

It's colourful, but too cheerful. It looks as if it's from another time.

Black and white would be better. To express the sombre mood of Labrador West these days.

The hotel manager says there was a dark cloud hovering over the area when IOC announced it's laying off 150 workers.

I travelled to Labrador West to speak with workers who are losing their jobs.

A young couple with hopes and dreams, hired on together, now being laid off together.

Janitors who punched close to 30 years. Gone in mid-June.

Everyone is devastated.

Haul trucks drivers, mine attendants and carpenters are among the affected workers.

But everyone was taken off-guard by IOC laying off the entire janitor/labourer job classification. That's 29 workers, and most are women.

Daphne Ford is pictured at her home in Labrador City. (John Gaudi/CBC)

Daphne Ford is one of them. She drove a haul truck for six years, and had a fright driving during bad winter weather when the huge Komatsu truck slid down a ramp in the mine.

Daphne transferred to janitorial work, thinking she'd be safe with eight years of seniority if cuts came.

Except she wasn't.

And now she doesn't know what's going to happen.

Daphne has office administration, information technology, and a mining technician program under her belt. She doesn't want to go back to school again.

"I'm good for the company," Daphne says, "I'm not just a labourer that they're throwing out the door. I'm a good asset to a company."

Daphne's husband Roger has been with IOC for five years. Like other workers, he also worries about future layoffs at IOC.

There are family photos in the Ford's living room. A trip to Disneyland — hope, dream, believe. A cheerful family portrait of a trip to Jamaica.

Daphne says she put in eight years at the company so her family could have a better life. Now, they'll have to cut back on things they worked so hard for.

The Fords are not alone.

Longing for the boom years

"Wabush Welcomes You," the town sign reads. "From the earth we prosper."

It's an eery reminder of the prosperity residents once enjoyed during the boom years.

John Efford is a mechanic at Hewlett Minpaco Ltd. in Wabush. (John Gaudi/CBC)

That's all changed with the slump in iron ore.

Wabush Mines closed down last fall, putting 500 people out of work.

Local businesses are also feeling the brunt.

Hewlett Minpaco Limited sells snowmobiles in Wabush. The showroom still had about a dozen on display in mid-April. But sales have been few.

Morley Nippard is the store manager. He confesses, "We got a lot of stuff people want, but we don't have anything that they need."

The business has laid off half of its staff, including three out of four mechanics.

John Efford has been working there for 14 years. He's the last mechanic standing.

There are many grim stories here. People losing jobs. Businesses struggling, some even closing.

But people in Labrador West are sitting tight. They're trying to ride out the economic downturn. They've been
through boom and bust before. But they're nervous.

Many fear the worst is not over

The real estate market has crashed. For-sale signs are easy to spot in Wabush and Labrador City.

Workers worry that more layoffs are coming or a possible shutdown at the mine.

Back at the Two Seasons Inn, manager Elaine Philpott says business is noticeably down at the hotel.

She's lived through tough times in Labrador City before. Her husband was laid off from IOC in 1982 when the price of iron ore plummeted. They literally handed their house keys back to the banks.

But she says people back then still had hope the economy would rebound eventually. And it did. Now she's not
so sure.

And for good reason. Wabush Mines and the Bloom Lake iron ore mine in Quebec have closed. IOC is laying off 150 workers in June.

Uncertainty is in the air.

"If the layoffs go ahead, and we pray to God that it doesn't," Elaine says, "it will be like a funeral here in Lab City and Wabush, that's for sure. It'll affect everybody."

Everybody will be sad.

As for the painting of IOC's mine in the hotel lobby, it may be some time before it seems true to life, if it ever does.