From Thompson to Tito with love?
Well, maybe, maybe not. But it is true that a Manitoba delegation, made up of USW Local 6166 President Murray Nychyporuk and assorted Thompson politicos, has a confirmed date with senior Vale executives in Toronto on Valentines Day, Feb. 14 to present what is in effect their counter-proposals to keep the refinery and smelter open here beyond 20015.
The proposals - which have included input from a wide array of stakeholders, including the province, the City of Thompson, United Steelworkers Local 6166 (USW), members of the federal government and others - are designed to protect the 500 jobs expected to be lost when Vale shuts down the smelter and refinery in 2015.
"When we met with Vale in Toronto, they outlined their reasons, which were emissions and feed," Thompson NDP MLA Steve Ashton, who is also minister of infrastructure and transportation, said Jan. 28. "We've taken what they said very seriously."
Ashton and Dave Chomiak, minister of innovation, energy and mining, both have ministers suggested that environmental regulations would be a major part of the local proposal to save Vale's surface operations here. "We've been pursuing directly some of the issues on the 2015 emission targets," said Ashton, noting that he had spoken to Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, also the senior minister for Manitoba, as well as other ministers.
Tito Martins, chief executive officer of Vale Canada and executive director of base metals for the international parent company, told the Thompson Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting Jan 26 that loosening those restrictions still wouldn't be enough to keep the above-ground facilities open, as the issue of feed would also come into play once the Long Harbour processing facility opens in 2013. Vale is building a $2.8 billion-state-of-the-art processing facility in Long Harbour in southeast Newfoundland on Placentia Bay on the western Avalon Peninsula, about 100 kilometres from the capital of St. John's. It is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2013.
The Long Harbour plant is Vale's first processing facility in Canada located on tidewater. It will process nickel concentrate produced at the Voisey's Bay, which has been processed in Thompson, the company says.
Striking United Steelworkers Local 9508 Vale workers in Voisey's Bay in northern Labrador voted 88 per cent in favour of a new five-year contract last week to end their bitter 18-month strike against Vale and return to work.
Last Oct. 23, Newfoundland and Labrador's Progressive Conservative government appointed a three-member Industrial Inquiry Commission to study the strike and make recommendations.
Vale has said that federal new regulations relating to sulphur dioxide (SO2), coming into effect for 2015, would force the company to reduce its emissions levels in Thompson by 88 per cent. Martins told the Thompson Chamber of Commerce annual general meeting that loosening those restrictions still wouldn't be enough to keep the above-ground facilities open, as the issue of feed would also come into play once the Long Harbour processing facilities open in 2013.
"We're going to approach the options as if we were sitting down with Vale, and they were looking to come to Thompson, had no connection to Thompson," said Ashton. "We're going to come up with creative solutions, and we encourage and quite frankly challenge Vale to do the same as well. I think it's in their best interest to look at this."
