Views of community sustainability after a mine closure: a case study of Manitouwadge, Ontario.

Abstract

Resource dependent communities remain a prevalent feature through much of rural northern Canada. Researchers from a variety of disciplines have explored the characteristics of these communities to assess their current stability and their longer term sustainability. The objective of this paper is to examine the attitudes, views and intended behaviour of residents of a resource dependent community in Northern Ontario following the closure of the town's main employer, a copper-zinc mine. Earlier research confirmed the importance of specific local conditions in influencing attitudes to decline. Manitouwadge contains several resource sector employers, arguably setting a context of community stability despite economic change. This paper explores the effects of the recent downturn on residents' optimism, satisfaction with their quality of life, and perception of changes in the community. The extent to which these attitudes and community attachment characteristics are influenced by length of tenure in the community is explored. Collectively, longer term residents are found to display greater attachment to the community, to hold a more optimistic outlook on the future of the town, and to indicate stronger commitment to remain in the community than those with shorter lengths of tenure. This suggests that persistence and adaptability--two key components of sustainability in a community--may be related to length of tenure and attachment.

Dans les regions rurales du nord du Canada, il existe de nombreuses localites tributaires des ressources naturelles. Des chercheurs de diverses disciplines ont etudie les caracteristiques de ces collectivites afin d'evaluer leur stabilite actuelle de meme que leur perennite a long terme. L'objectif du present article vise a etudier les attitudes, les points de vue et les intentions des residents d'une de ces localites, situee au nord de I'Ontario, a la suite de la fermeture de la mine de cuivre et de zinc, le principal employeur de la ville. Une recherche precedente avait confirme que les conditions locales particulieres avaient des repercussions importantes sur la decroissance. Manitouwadge possede plusieurs employeurs dans les secteurs des ressources naturelles, dont il est permis de croire qu'ils contribuent a la stabilite de la collectivite, malgre les changements economiques. Dans cet article, les auteurs analysent les effets du recent ralentissement sur l'optimisme des residents, leur satisfaction quant a la qualite de vie, et la perception de la collectivite face au changement. On y analyse la mesure dans laquelle la duree de residence dans cette collectivite a une influence sur l'attachement des membres de la collectivite envers celle-ci. Dans l'ensemble, les residents de plus longue date semblent faire preuve d'un degre d'attachement plus important envers la collectivite, ils semblent avoir un regard plus optimiste sur le futur de leur ville et un engagement a demeurer dans la collectivite plus grand que les residents de plus fraiche date. Ce qui donne a penser que la persistance et la faculte d'adaptation, deux elements cles de la perennite d'une collectivite, peuvent avoir un rapport avec la duree de la residence et l'attachement.

Keywords

Resource dependent communities, community sustainability, attachment, Northern Ontario

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Introduction

Communities that rely on the natural resources sector for their continued existence dot the landscape of rural and northern Canada (Robinson 1962; Bowles 1982; Randall and Ironside 1996). Academic interest in such communities has been multi-dimensional. Researchers such as Lucas (1971) and Himelfarb (1992) have attempted to understand the social structure of such towns, Bradbury and St. Martin (1983) have focused on the stages of economic development through which such towns pass. Others such as Saarinen (1986), Stafford and Nelson (1986), and Gill (1994) have examined planning issues associated with the rapid spurts of population growth that so often characterize resource oriented settlement.

More recently, work by Beckley (1995) and Randall and Ironside (1996) points to a shift in emphasis towards questions concerning community sustainability. A focus on sustainability reflects growing interest in understanding what it is that enables some resource dependent communities to survive an economic crisis or change. In resource dependent communities, crises may be temporary such as those caused by cyclical swings in commodity prices. Others are permanent such as those precipitated by the winding down and closure of extraction and/or processing activities when marketable resources have been depleted. Yet, conceptualizing such closures as the final stage in the life cycle of a resource dependent town may be too deterministic. This is not to say that a town's ability to survive closure is independent of its ability to rebuild its economic base or attract government assistance in support of such a rebuilding process (Clemenson 1992, McBride et al. 1993). What is also important, though, is the capacity of the town's residents to adapt to change; as Beckley (1995) notes, adaptability is the social and economic foundation of sustainability.

The role of adaptation, persistence and flexibility in sustaining a community's existence is reiterated in a recent collection of readings assembled by Pierce and Dale (1999). For example, Ommer and Sinclair (1999) note these attributes as vital components of the dynamic equilibrium that characterized the economy of several Newfoundland outports before large scale mining disrupted the balance. The ability of communities to sustain their health--both economic and social--reflects a resilient fabric, along with a reliable and varied natural resource base. The Pierce and Dale collection examines the multitude of factors that influence a town's ability to foster sustainability. Roseland (1999), for example, stresses the importance of well-developed social capital to the formulation of a successful response to crisis. Comprised of those organizations, structures, and social relations created by people independently of private or public agencies or institutions, social capital is seen as a requisite for building and reinforcing community fabric. This fabric, as McTiernan (1999) suggests, may be weakened by a splintering of the community cohesiveness because of divergent sets of interests and values held by residents. These values influence how individuals think about sustainable development.

Other characteristics of residents might play a role in their views on sustainability and the community's resilience and adaptability. Gill and Reed (1999), studied the process of planning land reallocation in Squamish, British Columbia, within the context of transition from a resource extraction based economy to one based on recreation, tourism and bedroom community functions. They noted that newcomers to the community--those with five or fewer years of residency--have placed different demands on land and resources than longer term residents who were more attached to the traditional resource extraction sector of the economy. Further, newcomers display attitudes toward economic development options that differ from those of longer term residents. In a similar vein, Halseth (1999) found that degrees of optimism about the future of three resource dependent communities in British Columbia varied depending on the occupation, age, and income levels of residents. Alhough optimism about the general economic health of the community and the opportunity for employment was high, younger residents, those in professional occupations and those with higher incomes were more optimistic than others. Halseth (1999) also explored the influence of the potential for recent forest sector disruptions on optimism.

Clearly residents' views about their town's ability to survive resource declines and economic transitions will influence their intentions and eventual actions in relation to those changes. Clapp (1998: 133) notes the "remarkable capacity for denial of impending depletion" in resource dependent communities. He attributes this to the business cycle of higher employment in economic upswing and layoff in downturn. Although this cycle reflects economic reality, it does encourage workers to deny an imminent resource decline or permanent closure on economic grounds and to maintain an optimism that another boom will occur.

Following the themes illustrated in this body of literature, this paper examines the views of residents concerning the sustainability and persistence of their community in the wake of a mine closure through a case study of Manitouwadge, Ontario. A key premise underlying this research is the importance of population retention to a community's future. Population loss can trigger a vicious downward spiral of economic conditions. All other things being equal, fewer people means a smaller tax base which can be compensated for in one of two ways: reduced level of services or higher taxes to maintain a previous level of service. Either way, resident satisfaction is reduced, leading to further out migration. Prospects for community sustainability or persistence, therefore, are interwoven with residents' migration intentions. A central question addressed by this research is whether the desire to remain in a community can be correlated with more positive views on the long term survivability of the community and the quality of life it offers. A second question is whether such positive views are more likely to be held by residents with a stronger attachment to the community. Attachment, in this vein, is hypothesized to create a form of locational inertia driven by social and psychological ties to a community within a particular historical context. In the face of crises brought upon by winding down and closure, such inertia may well override economic forces that suggest that it would be best to relocate.

Manitouwadge: Setting the Scene

Manitouwadge is located in northwestern Ontario approximately midway between Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie (Figure 1). It is isolated not only in the sense that it is some 400 km away from both of these major centres but also in that it is located 60 km off the Trans Canada Highway at the end of Highway 614. Manitouwadge's history makes it an interesting case for exploring questions of attachment and sustainability. The town was created in 1954 to support the Wilroy and Geco mines based on two copper/zinc deposits. Over the next three decades, Manitouwadge experienced two cycles of growth and decline (Figure 2).

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

From the mid 1960s through to the mid 1970s, the population of the town grew from about 3,200 in 1966 to just over 3,500 in 1976. This growth was largely the result of incremental change. Some additional employment was added to the town's economic base when forestry workers were relocated from regional bush camps to the town site. For the most part, though, growth was generated by natural increases as families progressed through household life cycle changes.

In 1977, the Wilroy mine closed, and over the next three years, Manitouwadge's population ratcheted downwards to about 3,000 and held at that level until 1985. At that time, a second period of expansion began with the opening of the Hemlo gold fields. With about one-third of the 1,200 Hemlo employees being housed in Manitouwadge, the town's population expanded rapidly. By 1986, the first wave of Hemlo workers pushed Manitouwadge's population back to the peak levels experienced in the mid 1970s. However, by 1991, a higher peak was established as the town's population climbed to just under 4,000.

In 1995, Manitouwadge began to absorb a second major shock to its employment base when Noranda's Geco mine ceased operations. Approximately 460 jobs were lost. Some Noranda workers were able to find work at the company's Hemlo operations, some moved on, but others remained in the community. When the 1996 census was taken, Manitouwadge's population had returned to a level slightly above what was present in the period immediately preceding the opening of Hemlo and just below what was present prior to the closure of the Wilroy mine. This roller coaster of population change suggests a dynamic equilibrium within this specific time frame; unfortunately, without a major new employer, the future peaks in population are unlikely to ever meet the 1991 level.

Research Methods

In March, 1994, as Geco was entering the final phases of its winding down process, we conducted an initial survey of Manitouwadge residents to assess the relationships between attachment and optimism (Lorch and Johnston 1996). Then, in September 1998, we returned to the community to do further research. This involved two types of data collection, one consisting of interviews with various community leaders and the second, a questionnaire survey of residents. This paper focuses on presenting and interpreting the results of the questionnaire survey.

The questionnaire, which was delivered to each post-office box in Manitouwadge, was designed to solicit information about respondents' attachment characteristics, their views on the quality of life in Manitouwadge, their perception of change in the retail, medical and social services available in the town since the Geco closure, their opinions on the future of Manitouwadge, and their intended behaviour related to remaining in the community. Finally, respondents were asked about their connections to Geco, and whether and how their employment status changed following the closure of the mine.

To encourage participation in the survey, respondents were given the opportunity to enter their name in a draw for gift certificates from two local grocery supermarkets. A total of 393 individuals returned questionnaires using the postage paid business reply envelopes provided. This represented a response rate of just over 25 percent. As the year of the respondent's arrival in Manitouwadge was pivotal in the research question design, 22 respondents who did not provide this information were eliminated from the group, leaving 371 remaining.

One limitation of the research design is that it excludes from consideration those who have already left Manitouwadge as a direct or indirect result of the Geco closure. Although the value of investigating the opinions of such former residents about Manitouwadge and the connection between those opinions and the decision to leave is recognized, limited resources prevented us from tracking these individuals.

Findings

As a first means of classifying respondents according to their level of attachment to the community, they were divided into two groups: those who were residents of Manitouwadge prior to the start of the Hemlo gold boom in 1985 and those who arrived in Manitouwadge in 1985 or later. Previous research indicates that this classification represents an appropriate newcomer/longer term resident division for this community (Lorch and Johnston 1996). Of the 371 respondents, about 60 percent were pre-Hemlo and 40 percent post-Hemlo households.

By the nature of the classification, one obvious difference between the two groups is length of tenure in the community. On average, pre-Hemlo respondents had lived in Manitouwadge for 27 years compared to seven years for the post-Hemlo respondents. Other differences were also observed. One-quarter of the pre-Hemlo group were 55 years of age or older whereas under seven percent of the post-Hemlo group belonged to senior age cohorts. Consistent with the presence of an older population, the post Hemlo group also reported a smaller average number of persons per household than the post-Hemlo group (2.65 versus 3.14). A characteristic shared by both groups is the strong presence of female respondents. Females comprised 65 percent of the pre-Hemlo group and 61 percent of the post-Hemlo group. According to census data, only 47 percent of Manitouwadge's population is female.

Given their longer tenure in Manitouwadge, it was expected that pre-Hemlo people would exhibit stronger ties to the community not only in terms of a local presence of family and extended family members, but also in terms of more positive and optimistic attitudes towards the future prospects of the community and less pessimistic view of change occurring in the town following the closure of the Geco mine.

Characteristics of Community Attachment

Table 1 summarizes the similarities and differences between pre and post-Hemlo individuals on a variety of community attachment characteristics. Not surprisingly, nearly all the pre-Hemlo households have at least one member who considers Manitouwadge to be his or her home community. Almost one in five of the pre-Hemlo respondents were born in the community. Of those born locally, about one-third have been in the community for 35 or more years. The proclivity of the post-Hemlo group to call Manitouwadge home is also strong. Although this group's average length of tenure is shorter, just over 40 percent have spent more than ten years in the community.

On other dimensions, the community roots of the pre-Hemlo group appear to be more developed. Pre-Hemlo residents are much more likely to have parents, other extended family members, and adult children living in the town. They are also less likely to rent their dwelling. Although relatively small proportions of both groups own a recreational property, the longer established pre-Hemlo group is more likely to own a property in close proximity to Manitouwadge whereas the post-Hemlo group is more likely to own a more distant recreational property.

On all but one of these characteristics the differences between the two groups are statistically significant, confirming that the two groups are distinct in their attachment based on length of tenure. The pre-Hemlo group displays stronger connections to the community for these social, economic and behavioural characteristics.

Views on Community Persistence

Given the stronger attachment to Manitouwadge displayed by the pre-Hemlo group, the question arises whether this attachment translates into a more favourable view of the town's recent performance and a more optimistic outlook for the long term future of the community as it adjusts to the closure of the Geco mine. To assess recent performance, residents were asked if they had noticed any change in local shopping and recreational opportunities and in the provision of medical and municipal services over the previous three years. As Table 2 shows, change in these measures was perceived by fewer than half of the respondents, indicating that, for many, a degree of stability had existed in the years immediately following the closure. Those who did notice change most often saw it in shopping opportunities and medical services. As well, post-Hemlo respondents appear to have had a greater sense of change than pre-Hemlo respondents in two of the four areas listed, both of which were statistically significant. If respondents indicated they had noticed change, they were asked to provide examples and these were then classified as positive, negative or both positive and negative. Change was much more frequently perceived as negative by both groups.

Although most residents perceived short term change to have been minimal, their outlook for the long term was much less optimistic (Table 3). Strong majorities within both groups foresaw higher taxes, fewer municipal services, and a decrease in mining jobs. A significantly greater proportion of the post-Hemlo group, however, did foresee decreases in population, fewer retail stores, reduced employment opportunities in the government sector, and fewer opportunities for young people graduating from school as part of the town's future. Post-Hemlo respondents also were more likely to believe that fewer people would be deciding to retire in the town. Overall, Table 3 shows the pre-Hemlo group to be less pessimistic than the post-Hemlo group.

Views on Quality of Life

Residents were asked to describe what they believed to be both the advantages and disadvantages of living in Manitouwadge. Overall, the pre and post-Hemlo groups shared similar views about the town. Manitouwadge's friendly, unpolluted, small town environment and excellent access to outdoor recreation opportunities were advantages cited frequently by both groups but more often by the longer term residents (Table 4a). The most common disadvantages cited were geographical isolation, poor shopping opportunities, and poor access to medical care (Table 4b). The more frequent mentioning of poor access to medical care by the pre-Hemlo group is most likely related to this group's higher average age and hence, its more frequent need to access such service.

Residents were also asked to rate, using a five point Likert scale, the quality of life they experience in Manitouwadge. As Table 4c indicates, despite the community's isolation and perceived limited provision of medical and retail services, most residents are satisfied with the quality of life the town offers. The degree of satisfaction is moderately higher amongst pre-Hemlo respondents and the degree of dissatisfaction somewhat higher amongst post-Hemlo respondents, but these are not statistically significant differences.

Community Sustainability and Intentions to Stay

Residents were asked if they were optimistic or pessimistic about Manitouwadge's chances of surviving as a viable community and whether the opinion currently held differed from what they thought at the time of the Geco closure in 1995 (Table 5). Overall those who have remained optimistic outnumber those who have remained pessimistic by almost three to one. Those whose pessimism has lessened roughly equals those whose optimism has lessened. When disaggregated into pre and post-Hemlo groups, the longer term residents again appear more optimistic. Despite the negative economic consequences of the mine closure, nearly half of the pre-Hemlo group remain as optimistic about the town's future as they did when the mine closed compared with only 31 percent of the post-Hemlo group.

The extent to which opinions held about the future viability of the town correlate with the retirement intentions of respondents provides perhaps the best indication of the greater attachment felt towards Manitouwadge by the pre-Hemlo group. This is particularly evident with the Pre-Hemlo residents who were as optimistic at the time of the survey as they were when Geco closed. These people were five times as likely as the similarly optimistic residents in the post-Hemlo group to state that they intend to retire in Manitouwadge. An equally striking difference was found among those who have remained pessimistic about the town's future. Just over 20 percent of the pessimists in the pre-Hemlo group still intend to retire in Manitouwadge as compared to only three percent in the post-Hemlo group.

These differences appear to reflect a general attachment to Manitouwadge that is characteristic of the pre-Hemlo respondents whether they are optimistic or pessimistic. About 40 percent of the pre-Hemlo group as a whole indicated that they had once moved away from Manitouwadge either to attend school or seek employment but later returned to the town. This ongoing desire to make Manitouwadge home also is evident in that about three-quarters of the pre-Hemlo group indicated that they had no intention of leaving the town within the next five years and just over 40 percent stated that they had plans to retire in Manitouwadge. Indeed, given that 11 percent of the pre-Hemlo respondents are 65 or older, some have already made Manitouwadge their retirement home. In contrast, over one half of the post-Hemlo group anticipates leaving the community within the next five years and only six percent see themselves retiring in the community.

Finally, although proclivity to remain in the community is correlated with age, within any given age cohort, intentions to retire in Manitouwadge are significantly stronger in the pre-Hemlo group. In the 35-44, 45-54 and 55-64 age cohorts, pre-Hemlo residents are respectively three, eight and five times as likely to want to retire in Manitouwadge than are those in the post-Hemlo group.

Interpretation

The findings support the assertion that residents more strongly attached to the community are more likely to play a role in insuring the long term persistence of that community by making the decision, not only to remain in the community in the short run, but also to retire in place. Long term residents are reasonably satisfied with the quality of life offered in Manitouwadge but they are still not particularly enamoured with their geographical isolation and the low level of services available to them and they do have some concerns about negative changes they have noted since the closure of Geco. One possible reason for overlooking such irritants is the high level of income enjoyed by most Manitouwadge households. According to Statistics Canada, males earn about 1.5 times and families 1.2 times the provincial average income. Another possible reason is the familiarity most respondents have with living in a remote location and what that entails in terms of advantages and disadvantages. But high incomes and resource town experience are not the strict purview of the pre-Hemlo group. More recent in-migrants earn similar incomes and have similar resource town living experience. Excluding those born in Manitouwadge, nearly 70 percent of the respondents indicated that they had previously lived in a community dependent upon either the forestry or mining sector. Consistently, the pre-Hemlo group is more optimistic about Manitouwadge's long term viability and more frequently view themselves as being a part of the town's future. Why is this the case?

An answer to this question is beyond the scope of the data collected in this research, but a speculative assessment is possible. One possible explanation lies with the fact that many pre-Hemlo households have lived in Manitouwadge long enough to have personally experienced the rhythms of a resource dependent economy that has been favoured with some stability. Having previously seen Manitouwadge survive a closure crisis, they may be less perturbed by the most recent one and the one that lies on the horizon when the Hemlo gold fields are depleted. They have also been in the town long enough to witness some reinvestment take place in community infrastructure. Commitments such as the construction of a new high school, hospital and municipal hall provide long term residents with testimony to the town's resilience and hope for its survival. Their attachment, combined with an apparent acceptance of ongoing change, may provide them with an outlook that favours adaptability and persistence.

Another reason for the more optimistic outlook of longer term residents is that they are less likely to have suffered personal economic set back as a result of the closure. One indicator of this is the change of employment status from the time of the Geco closure to the time of this study. The older age profile of the pre-Hemlo group is reflected in about 12 percent of both respondents and their spouses having moved from full time employment to retirement as compared to only about two percent of the post-Hemlo group. The shrinkage in the demand for labour, thus, was of less consequence for the longer term residents. Another indicator that the pre-Hemlo group might have less cause for concern about the economic future is found in residents' assessment of change in housing market conditions. When asked about the market value of their homes, only 20 percent of pre-Hemlo respondents felt that their homes had suffered a decline in value. By contrast, over 50 percent of those persons who arrived in Manitouwadge in the late 1980s and early 1990s at the tail end of the Hemlo boom and just before Geco began the winding down process perceived a decline in the value of their homes. Given that a large proportion of post-Hemlo residents indicated their intention to leave the community after retirement, the need to liquidate built up equity in homes becomes a more pressing issue compared to those who wish to remain. The desire to move even with the prospect of losing money on the sale of a house is perhaps one more indicator of how weak the attachment is of such households to the community.

Finally, while many pre and post-Hemlo residents have had previous experience living in a resource dependent community, the pre-Hemlo group has a moderately greater degree of experience with the northern Ontario milieu. Some 67 percent of the pre-Hemlo group were either born in Manitowadge or moved to Manitouwadge from another community in northern Ontario. This compares to only 57 percent of the post-Hemlo group. It is plausible that a greater degree of familiarity with the local context may breed a greater degree of tolerance for the challenges the region poses to its residents. Again, this reflects attachment characteristics that likely play a role in willingness to persist.

Conclusion

It has been popular to tie the fortunes of a community to the economic foundation on which it is based. It would be unrealistic to deny the importance of employment opportunities in providing the basis for a town's sustenance. It has been noted, though, that the receptiveness of efforts to rebuild communities after economic dislocations is influenced by the perceptions held by residents about the outlook for their communities (Huillet, 1997). If that be the case, then Manitouwadge may have the foundation needed to be a sustainable community. Results of our study show a willingness among residents with a longer history in the community to remain in the community in spite of the scaling back of the town's economic base. The motivating factors underlying such decisions are less well known. In this paper, we have speculated that long term residents are likely to be influenced by a form of locational inertia consisting of strong family ties, a degree of personal economic stability, and a breadth of local experience that has conditioned them to accept inconvenience and isolation as a fact of life in a resource dependent community balanced by positive features linked to small town living. More research is needed to more fully specify the dimensions of this inertia and the extent to which it is embedded in the culture of mining towns.

The optimism displayed by pre and post-Hemlo households will continue to be tested. Most recent Census figures show another significant decline in Manitouwadge's population (Statistics Canada 2002). Since 1991, the town has lost over 25 percent of its residents. Moreover, in 2005, the Hemlo gold field property operated by Golden Giant Mines will close. On a more optimistic note, a Vancouver firm recently purchased 150 homes in Manitouwadge owned by Golden Giant and has begun a staged process of renovation and marketing of the properties (Select Property Group 2002). In just over a year, the first phase, which involved the re-selling of 20 of the homes, has been completed.

Over the coming years, Manitouwadge will remain an intriguing place in which to study the dynamics of community change. All signs indicate that the traditional components of the town's economic base will continue to erode. If newcomers can be enticed to the community by the availability of extremely affordable housing and modest levels of public infrastructure and by an incumbent population willing to accept and adapt to the changes that newcomers might bring, Manitouwadge may successfully make the transition to what Gill and Reed (1999) call a post-productive economy. Moreover, it would add weight to the argument that there is life after resource depletion for remotely located towns in the northern reaches of Canada's provinces. Table 1. Characteristics of community attachment

Pre-Hemlo Post-Hemlo Difference of

(n=222) (n=148) Proportions Attachment Indicator % % Z-score Born in town 18 0 Someone in household calls

town home 94 82 3.76* Parents in town 32 13 4.23* Extended family in town 53 32 2.63* Adult children in town 29 14 3.86* Rent principal residence 12 22 2.73* Own recreational property

within two hours 10 5 1.74* Own more distant recreational

property 7 11 1.28 Moved away and returned 39 18 4.45* * One-tailed significant difference at 95% confidence level. Table 2. Percentage of respondents who have perceived change in community services since the closure of Geco

Pre-Hemlo Post-Hemlo Difference of Type of Service Proportions

(z)

n % n % Shopping 221 45 135 42 .47 Recreational 219 18 134 24 1.38 Medical 219 34 136 44 1.86* Municipal/Social 214 15 126 25 2.09* * One-tailed significant difference at 95% confidence level. Table 3. Percentage of respondents holding certain opinions about the future of Manitouwadge

Pre-Hemlo Post-Hemlo Difference of Scenario n % n % Proportions

(z) Population will decrease 222 73 148 86 2.84* Local taxes will increase 212 66 146 72 1.17 People choosing to retire in Manitouwadge will decrease 219 47 147 58 2.11* Municipal services will decrease 220 60 147 69 1.61 Mining jobs will decrease 222 86 148 91 1.29 Job opportunities for school graduates will decrease 222 74 148 87 2.99* Government jobs will decrease 216 66 148 78 2.52* # of stores will decrease 222 76 148 83 1.65* * One-tailed significant difference at 95% confidence level. Table 4. Perceived advantages and disadvantages of living in Manitouwadge (a) Advantages

Mentioned by Mentioned

Pre-Hemlo by Post-

Group (%) Hemlo Group

(%) Small, friendly town 83.4 64.9 Plentiful outdoor recreation opportunities 33.2 29.7 Clean environment 18.4 10.1 Abundant employment opportunities 7.6 16.9 Good local services 13.0 18.2 Cheap housing 9.9 14.9 (b) Disadvantages Isolation 58.3 59.5 Poor shopping opportunities 49.8 49.3 Poor medical services 45.7 33.8 High Cost of Living 15.2 15.5 (c) Overall assessment of quality of life Pre-Hemlo Post-Hemlo

% % Satisfied or Very Satisfied 77.9 69.9 Dissatisfied or Very Dissatisfied 5.1 9.6 Table 5. Present day opinion regarding Manitouwadge's future as a viable community compared to opinion at time of Geco closure*

Pre-Hemlo Post-Hemlo Overall

n % n % % Remain Optimistic 86 47 36 31 40 Not as pessimistic 33 18 32 27 21 Remain pessimistic 27 15 17 14 14 Not as optimistic 39 21 33 28 24 Total 185 101 118 99 99 * Chi-square = 8.89 (df=3; pr = .03).

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Author Biographies

Brian Lorch is Associate Professor of Geography at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay. His teaching and research interests lie in the general area of urban-economic geography with a specific interest in consumer behaviour and retail development. He can be reached at brian.lorch@lakeheadu.ca.

Margaret Johnston is a Professor at Lakehead University where she is the Director of the School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism. Her research interests include the regulation of polar tourism, community attachment in single sector towns, and motivations of volunteers at special events. She can be reached at margaret.johnston@lakeheadu.ca.

Dave Challen is a professor at Fanshawe College, London where he teaches Sociology in the General Studies Program and is a sessional lecturer in the School of Social Work, King's College, London. His interests include community focused sustainable development, issues in restorative and juvenile justice, and innovations in postsecondary teaching. He can be reached at Dave.Challen@uwo.ca.