My husband is a Lakeland employee, and though he wasn't at work at the time, it has impacted our family so much.
When he got the job there, nearly six years ago, it represented a change in our lives. We had just moved to town, and he got the job within a few months. We couldn't believe what an opportunity it was: a job that paid well and a great company to work for.
He was never laid-off, not even during the worst economic times.
The Sinclar Group has always ran their business like a family: they have done everything to ensure their workers always had work.
In light of the tragedy, they have gone over and above for their employees. The support, the meetings, the counselling, the phone calls, have all made this difficult time a little easier.
Lakeland Mills was more than a piece of land with buildings on it, it meant everything to us, it changed our lives. It allowed us to buy a house for our kids to grow up in. It has given us everything we moved here for. We feel empty without it. There is mourning for the loss of beloved coworkers, mourning for the changed lives of the injured; mourning for the changed lives of the witnesses and brave men and women who assisted the injured; mourning for the loss of a building, a place to go four days a week.
There is just so much sadness. Fortunately, it is tempered by the amazing outpouring of love from this community. I have never been so proud to live here. The amount of help that is available for these men and women is more than I realized was possible. Every day, I am overwhelmed by the stories, the thoughts, the calls.
Please remember, it was more than just the Lakeland employees affected. Keep in your hearts the firefighters, the paramedics, RCMP, the hospital staff, the 911 dispatchers, the CN workers, truck drivers, the contractors, surrounding businesses, Good Samaritans, and so many others whose lives have been touched by this.
Nicole Chouinard
Prince George
