Opportunities NB CEO Meeting with Mayor of Sussex
SAINT JOHN – Opportunities New Brunswick CEO Stephen Lund will be meeting with Sussex Mayor Marc Thorne on Thursday afternoon to offer the organization’s support.
On Tuesday PotashCorp announced it was immediately suspending operations at its Picadilly Mine near Sussex. Up to 430 people will lose their jobs at the mine as a result.
At a speaking engagement in Saint John earlier in the day, Lund said he will be meeting with Thorne to see where Opportunities New Brunswick could help. He said ONB has already been working with the business community. An internal task force has been put together that will be meeting tomorrow.
“I don’t know what the answers are. We need to look at that. Are there opportunities to bring businesses in? Are there opportunities to help the companies that are involved in the supply chain? I don’t know yet.”
Lund was unable to give any specifics of what support they could offer the struggling community.
“I don’t know yet. I need to find out what exactly they need and what we can do,” he said. “We’re a support role. We’re going to assess what we can do.”
Like pretty much everyone else, Lund said ONB didn’t see the mine closure coming.
“We weren’t ready for this. It’s recent. We really need to get a sense of what the possibilities are.”
Some companies and organizations are being quick to help out.
On Thursday J.D. Irving announced it will be hosting a hiring fair in Sussex on Jan. 28. Moncton’s 3+ Corporation, an economic development organization, also pledged its support.
“With the support of our three municipalities of Dieppe, Moncton and Riverview, and our business community, we are committed to do all we can to assist the province, the Sussex community and the 430 workers impacted by this event,” said Michael MacBride, the organization’s interim CEO.
“It’s great to see some companies that are looking to do job fairs that are reaching out,” Lund said. “We work with a lot of those companies today so we’re going to keep encouraging them and we’re going to talk with officials. We’re exploring.”