Annie Usanovic is a 26 year old woman living in Houston, BC. She was a full-time employee of the Houston Sawmill along with her spouse and her father. Then one day in April of 2023, all three of them held a glass and toasted to their last day of work after the CANFOR board shut down the facility for an unknown length of time while they decided if they would build a new facility or leave the community completely.
While ultimately the board decided to rebuild a facility, the closure left 10% of the town’s population unemployed for an indeterminate amount of time. Community services such as food programs for kids and incentives to re-enter the workforce came into place as a way to help curtail the financial burden of households without their main source of income.
Annie’s life changed drastically. She spoke to CICK News about how the closure has affected her and her family.
