Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario

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Smooth Rock Falls is an incorporated town in the Cochrane District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. Part of the James Bay Frontier, it calls itself "The North's Biggest Little Town."

1 Geography and transportation
2 Economy
3 Attractions and amenities
4 Demographics
5 Provincial and federal representation
6 People from Smooth Rock Falls
7 External links

[edit] Geography and transportation

The town lies on the Mattagami River and on Highway 11; on Highway 11, the next full-service towns in each direction are Cochrane, about 59 km (37 mi) to the east and slightly south by road, and Kapuskasing, about 65 km (40 mi) to the west and slightly north. Highway 634 connects Smooth Rock Falls northward with the tiny community of Fraserdale, and Highway 655, starting in Driftwood east of Smooth Rock Falls, provides easier access to Timmins, the dominant regional centre, about 102 km (63 mi) south by that route.

The town is served by the Ontario Northland Railway for freight service, and by Ontario Northland passenger buses.

[edit] Economy

The Smooth Rock Falls economy is dominated by the Tembec Malette pulp mill. The plant is ageing and has been reducing its workforce, and its viability and lifespan are of great concern to the community. Consultants hired by the town and reporting in 2005 described "almost 97% of local residents... holding [their] breath, waiting for the other shoe to drop." The town is seeking reinvestment in the plant as well as alternative sources of export revenue and economic stability.

On Monday, April 24th 2006, Tembec announced the indefinite shutdown of its Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario pulp mill which produces 200,000 tonnes of Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) pulp annually. The idling of this plant, effective July 31st, 2006, will affect approximately 230 employees. Details regarding the future of the pulping operation and the town are now speculative at best but many life-long residents are planning on remaining in Smooth Rock and taking any available employment while other residents are caustiously optimistic that the mill may re-open.

[edit] Attractions and amenities

Town attractions include the Reg Lamy Cultural Centre, which includes a hockey arena and Smooth Rock Falls Curling Club; the Smooth Rock Falls Golf Course, a public library, movie theatre and a public swimming pool; almost all recreational facilities in the town are volunteer-run.

The Smooth Rock Falls Hospital includes 14 acute care and 23 long-term care beds, and its Cochrane District Detoxification Centre serves the larger region.

District School Board Ontario North East operates the Smooth Rock Falls Public School (JK-8) and Smooth Rock Falls Secondary School, and the Conseil scolaire district catholique de district des Grandes Rivières operates L'École catholique Georges-Vanier. For postsecondary education, a Contact North distance education access centre serves the town.

CKGN-1, a repeater of CKGN-FM Kapuskasing, provides community radio service for the Franco-Ontarian population. NorthernTel, Ontera and Persona Inc. provide telecommunication services.

[edit] Demographics

As of the Canada 2001 Census, Smooth Rock Falls' town population was 1830, down from 1982 in the 1996 census; the population reached its census peak of 2208 in the 1986 census.

In 2001, approximately 45 were aboriginal, and approximately ten had been born outside of Canada. 1530 residents identified their religion as Roman Catholic. Over 500 used French or some combination of English and French most often at work. Unemployment was substantially higher and workforce participation lower, but among all persons with income and among workers, annual incomes were higher than Ontario averages.

Residents constituted 535 families and 730 private households. 640 out of 730 occupied private dwellings were owner-occupied. Counting unoccupied homes, the town consisted of 862 private dwellings.

[edit] Provincial and federal representation

Smooth Rock Falls is part of the provincial electoral district of Timmins—James Bay and the federal electoral district of Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing. Its Member of Provincial Parliament is Gilles Bisson, a New Democrat, and its Member of Parliament is Brent St. Denis, a Liberal. Bisson's constituency office serves Smooth Rock Falls locally with weekly hours at Town Hall, while St. Denis' represents the area out of its office in Kapuskasing.