On the 5th episode of Your Town Matters, Mayor Ken Stannix of the Village of McAdam voiced his perspective on the closure of the CertainTeed gypsum wall-board plant and how McAdam plans to recuperate. Plus, MP John Williamson discusses the new petition signed by over 900 people for a year-round ferry to Campobello Island that will be heading to the House of Commons this September. 

On July 16th,  CertainTeed Saint-Gobain announced that the gypsum wallboard plant in McAdam will permanently cease production on August 28, 2020. Mayor Ken Stannix explains that the closure is due to marketing conditions, and that “demand had dropped to about 25% of their capacity at that level”.    

Last week, Mayor Stannix expressed his immediate concerns to the “59 folks that will be losing their jobs over this period”. “My heart sunk right down to the pit of my stomach,” said Stannix when he discovered that the rumours he had been hearing were true about the plant closing. Despite the devastating news, Mayor Stannix knows that the workforce in McAdam is excellent,  multi-talented and that “they will have skill-sets that are highly prized by a lot of new employers”. 

“We do have a plan for the future,” said Mayor Stannix, announcing that on Friday, July 24 at 9:00 am there will be a meeting with Opportunities New Brunswick to assist in “defining what the layout of the plant is, the capabilities of the plant”, it’s “modern infrastructure, gas fire and operation process” among other features and functions that other institutions or companies may find appealing. 

Additionally, the Town Council will assist in aiding the recently unemployed with resources and learning opportunities related to, “E.I., talking to them about how to invest in severance packages, how to plan for the future, how do they find a new job..., and how to deal with the accounting that is associated with that. Mayor Stannix said that there will be more local options presented to these families and that it is expected to see job fairs, the assistance of other businesses in the area, and to hold onto the hope that another company will move in and provide a new series of jobs once again as it would be “the best-case scenario.” 

Also this week, MP John Williamson provided updates on the petition that was launched through the House of Commons in regards to a year-round ferry to and from Campobello Island. “People just think that its a question of fairness and equity for this community, this island community, to be able to get to and from Campobello by going through NB and not having to travel to the USA,” says Williamson, and ensures us that with the minimum signatures needed for the petition being 500, he will be able to “table this petition in parliament in September when we go back” and that “this will prompt a reply from the federal government on the petition”. It is additionally stated that “the provincial government is putting together a full plan, from nuts to bolts, scheduling, budgeting, all that and what it will take’. Williamson says that “Now that we have both levels of government that have indicated their willingness to work together… all the arrows are pointing in the right direction now, but as I say Ottawa funds plans, it doesn’t fund the ideas”, but that “once we have that plan we’ll begin to promote it and that will be the next big step I think”