More trouble for local economy

It's now official — Cameco will be shutting down its UF6 plant in mid-December due to ongoing issues with its supplier.

This will leave about 100 people out of a job until mid-2009.

Combine this with the closing of the Quaker Oat plant in Trenton, of which many a Brighton and east Northumberland resident is employed, and it has been another tough week for Northumberland's manufacturing sector.

And yesterday's economic statement by Finance Minister Jim Flaherty did little to boost confidence in the future of Canada's economy, but the government did say it won't produce a deficit budget, which was expected in some corners.

He also didn't mention anything about a bailout for the auto sector, which will have huge ramifications in west Northumberland, because of the amount of locals who work at Oshawa's GM plant. With GM on the brink of bankruptcy, and the job losses that will result, these are certainly nervous times.

Hopefully the rest of the large employers in our area can weather this storm until the economy begins to climb out of the dank basement it now finds itself in.