When the Smurfit-Stone paper mill closed in November 2008 in Portage-du-Fort, Quebec, a small village in the Pontiac Region one hour outside of the nation’s capital in Ottawa, the economic impact was devastating. The closing of the four-decade old mill left some 500 area residents unemployed, sending the region’s unemployment rate skyrocketing to more than 20 percent.

Today, the future is much brighter in Portage-du-Fort as the abandoned mill no longer sits vacant. In fact, in less than two years since closing its doors, the site is occupied and has become the cornerstone for the area’s revitalization. Plans already are underway to make it the regional industrial park for the entire Pontiac region with the goal of utilizing energy technologies, alternative fuel sources and the recycling of varied waste streams as key development initiatives. So how does a 2,200-acre Brownfield site in a remote area of Quebec make the transition to industrial capital? It’s a matter of good timing, developers with a vision and the overwhelming cooperation of municipal, provincial and federal authorities who wanted to see the site regain its economic viability. ...

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