Features Research & Innovation
Got anything to say about that?

The Pulp & Paper Canada web site has a new look. But what’s exciting to me is what’s beneath the surface. Changes to the underlying architecture of the site have given us new features that make it easier to communicate with me, and with others in the industry.

The newer technology now allows readers to post comments related to each article, which, I think, can really enhance and add to a story. Good comments help to put things in perspective. For example, someone who worked at the Tembec Pine Falls mill, which is now closed, commented on a recent story about union concessions at AbitibiBowater mills in Eastern Canada.

He says, “I’d like to remind Mr. Coles that a 10% wage cut with the pensions intact, along with future wage increases, is nothing more than a minor inconvenience for the workers involved. Workers at the Tembec Pine Falls mill have lost their jobs and pensions — now that is a huge setback.”

This kind of comment can spark an informed discussion, and leave us with a richer story. Please, feel free to comment on any stories that appear on the Pulp & Paper Canada web site. Let’s make it a two-way conversation, not just me and my staff speaking to the readers across Canada.

We do ask that you make your comments relevant to the article, not overtly promotional, and not derogatory of other people. We do offer online classified ads, so I won’t approve comments that offer to buy or sell items.

With travel restrictions and shutdowns, the opportunities to attend networking events and socialize with workers from other mills are diminishing. But forums such as Pulp & Paper Canada’s web site, and the initiatives PAPTAC is taking with online communities, give all of us who are currently in the industry, and those who were formerly employed in the industry, a chance to make our views known. I’m no longer the only one with the power to share my opinions with thousands of readers.