Vanscoy businesses to soon feel the effects of mine closure

Upcoming mine shutdowns across the province are set to impact more than potash miners in three small communities in Saskatchewan.

As many as 700 potash workers will be laid off for the final fiscal quarter after Nutrien announced upcoming closures at its mines in Allan, Lanigan and Vanscoy.

Early reaction to the closures has been met with a bleak outlook in Vanscoy.

Robin Odnokon has been operating Robin’s Nest Cafe, just a few kilometres from the mine, on Highway 7 for the past 23 years. Her business’ bottom line has been affected by the slowed production at Vanscoy Potash over the past two years.

However, an outright shutdown is a new level of alarming.

“You’re relying more and more on road traffic and the every-day residents within the village and within the RM to come support us, I guess,” Odnokon said Thursday about the prospect of some of her most frequent customers no longer stopping in.

Workers will be let go for up to eight weeks once the closures begin in November, but Odnokon expects the layoffs will present problems earlier than that.

“It’s going to be scary, and it’s probably going to start right away,” she said. “People will be starting to look at what they can and cannot spend to save up for the two months. I’m sure we’ll see an impact before November.”

Adding to the fear in Vanscoy is ongoing construction on Highway 7 that will bypass the village once it is complete.

Betty Free has been running the Vanscoy Hotel for 16 years. She was shocked to hear the news when some Nutrien workers walked into the hotel’s bar after their shift on Wednesday.

“The highway is opening up in September, and they’re getting laid off in November,” Free said. “Business is slow as it is and now it’s going to be even slower.

“Hopefully it doesn’t kill the town.”

Free doesn’t imagine an eight-week shutdown could affect businesses to the point of shuttering, but she knows she will have to lay off at least one waitress until Free knows more.

“I have to wait and see how long the layoff is,” she said, hoping that workers return to the mine after the eight-week mark.

Free also has to deal with a lack of Nutrien Christmas parties at the bar. She knows no matter what, the hotel and the mine are linked.

“This hotel was built for the mine, so the mine does have an impact on this hotel,” she said. “(If) the mine goes, this will go.”

Odnokon has seen Robin’s Nest wane in popularity. She used to regularly cater meals at the mine until production was slowed two years ago.

Like her neighbours, she has learned to cope with the constant changes happening at the nearby potash mine.

“The community is very resilient,” Odnokon said. “You do what you need to do to keep up and keep going.”