Loan refusal a slap in face: Foundry workers

To Premier Darrell Dexter:
I am writing you on behalf of all our union members, in regards to your recent decision to refuse a loan to Maritime Steel Foundry. We feel this is extremely unjust and a slap in the face to all employees at this plant. This past week we contacted Mr. Paris and were informed that this loan was denied due to lack of information on the application and that a letter would be sent to Mr. Jafarnia right away. A couple of days later we heard on the radio that the reason for denial was high risk and a lack of orders. We don’t believe this for one second, and think it is very unfair due to past practices of your government.
The machinery alone at Maritime Steel is worth $750,000, and orders are worth approximately $500,000 to-date; Maritime Steel has a contract with Michigan Steel for 50 per cent of its capacity for the next five years. Of all people, you should know that a company can’t keep accepting orders that they are unable to fill due to the lack of operating capital, for which this loan was requested.
In meetings with Mr. Jafarnia, he assured us that obtaining orders is not a problem. Our customers show confidence and the need for this company; AMTI paid $50,000 up front and is paying for products upon receiving shipping orders and also, Michigan Steel are looking at doing something similar. Mr. Jafarnia stated to us he has the support of the local PRDA and the Chamber of Commerce, and with this loan would be able to employ 70 to 100 people. We were also told by Mr. Ross Landry and Mr. Clarrie MacKinnon that we have their support.
Compare this to your government spending $60 to $90 million at DSTN in Trenton and at that time they didn’t have sufficient orders to reach the employment levels stated by you for a full year. Currently DSTN has the vast majority of their employees laid off, and those who are working are not in production.
What was the risk level there? You spent $50 million at a pulp mill on the South Shore and they have had a layoff at the beginning of this year and are going to have another layoff in March, reason: lack of orders.
You granted $5 million at another pulp mill in Port Hawkesbury to be kept in moth balls for the possibility of a future sale. We aren’t stating that these were bad investments, on the contrary, they were worth the risk. Saying that, a $1 million loan to Maritime Steel Limited, for operating capital with employment of 70 to 100 jobs, and the ability to obtain future orders is a very low risk, compared to the above examples.
We are requesting your immediate attention be given to review and reverse this decision and fast track to be given for this loan, enabling our workers to get back to work ASAP. Failing to do so, we request you to explain the reasons for the denial. Also to identify if there are persons or individuals who are lobbying your government against Maritime Steel Foundry and their reasons.
Please inform us of the outcome as soon as possible by email and letter, so we can plan further actions to save our jobs.
Sid Betts
President GMP Local 332