The mayor of Clearwater says he met with the Canfor manager this week to talk about the shutdown coming at the Vavenby sawmill.

Merlin Blackwell says the company is working on a plan to move employees around and keep them working.

“They said that they are committed to staying in Clearwater and in Vavenby. They’ve said that they are going to try to keep people working as often as possible, and Canfor has also basically said that they will let us know if there’s anything we can do to help,” he says.

“We’re all on board, we’re working as a council on that aspect of it right now for sure, just trying to keep people employed and occupied during the shutdown. It’s a really hard thing for a lot of families.”

Blackwell says many staff live in Clearwater and says the mill is important to the community.

“Tourism is awesome, I’ve been doing tourism for years, but it’s a five-to-six-month seasonal economy that brings in a lot of money. Forestry for us brings in money year-round and it is the bedrock industry of Clearwater. And the Vavenby mill may be up the road but it is actually part of our community and definitely part of our larger economy.”

The six-week shutdown at the mill begins on Monday.