Strathlorne forest nursery lays off 4

Four seasonal workers at the provincial Strathlorne forest nursery in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia had to be laid off recently due to the low sales for tree seedlings.

The nursery has just 21 seasonal employees now, and 5 permanent employees. When the nursery opened, more than twenty years ago, it employed upwards of 200 people and has been considered a major employer in Inverness County. Just four years, the nursery employed 48 seasonal workers.

Ned MacDonald, a councillor for the county, said, “We were hoping to save those, a lot of the earlier indications were that we’d have the same number of employees at that site, but last week four of the 25 were let go.”

MacDonald said it’s commonly known that the demand for seedlings is down due to difficulties in the forestry sector, with several of the nursery’s clients having shut down.

In the meantime, the Strathlorne operation is still awaiting word on the monies promised last April by the Community Development Trust Fund, which were slated to help the Strathlorne operation explore long-term opportunities, invest in upgrades and develop a seasonal workers’ employment program. At the same time, DNR officials unveiled their plans for a Minister’s Community Advisory Committee to “work with the department to identify and evaluate options and implement necessary changes.”

The funding is on hold until the provincial budget is released later this spring.

Sources:

Councillor worried about future of nursery (Cape Breton Post)

Four positions eliminated at Strathlorne tree nursery (Port Hawkesbury Reporter)