Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario
Encyclopedia
Smooth Rock Falls is an incorporated town in the Cochrane District
in Northeastern
Ontario
, Canada
. Part of the James Bay Frontier, it calls itself "The North's
Biggest Little Town."
and on Highway 11
; on Highway 11, the next full-service towns in each direction are Cochrane
, about 59 km (37 mi) to the east and slightly south by road, and Kapuskasing, about 65 km (40 mi) to the west and slightly north. Highway 634
connects Smooth Rock Falls northward with the tiny community of Fraserdale
, and Highway 655
, starting in Driftwood
east of Smooth Rock Falls, provides easier access to Timmins
, the dominant regional centre, about 102 km (63 mi) south by that route.
The town is served by the Ontario Northland Railway
for freight service, and by Ontario Northland passenger buses.
, the current population is 1,473, which is a drop of 19.5% from the Canada 2001 Census
. The population reached its census peak of 2,208 in the 1986 census.
Population trend:
In 2001, approximately 45 were aboriginal
, and approximately ten had been born outside of Canada. 1,530 residents identified their religion as Roman Catholic. Over 500 used French
or some combination of English and French
most often at work. Unemployment
was substantially higher and workforce participation lower, but among all persons with income and among workers, annual incomes were higher than Ontario averages.
Residents constituted 535 families and 730 private households. 640 out of 730 occupied private dwellings were owner-occupied. Counting unoccupied homes, the town consisted of 862 private dwellings.
Malette pulp mill
, which was closed on November 5, 2006. Prior to that, the mill had been in a state of indefinite shutdown since July 31, 2006. The closure of the mill meant the loss of about 210 jobs.
The town of Smooth Rock Falls has made a series of announcements regarding community investments since Tembec's departure and the closure of the pulp mill. On July 13, 2007 a joint news conference between the town and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources revealed the former Tembec pulp mill would be converted into a value-added cedar plant. Quebec-based Hardy Cedar Lumber is expected to take control of the mill and will be provided with 50,000 cubic metres of cedar from the province. Operations could begin as early as March 2008. The cedar project could provide the community with as many as 44 full-time jobs.
One month prior to the cedar announcement, the town made public an investor's plan to build a new seniors retirement home, 80-100 room hotel and establish a new Indian restaurant. Nightingale Premier, an investment company based in Great Britain, first met with town officials in November 2006. The British company made its plans for a new seniors home, hotel and restaurant known on June 13, 2007.
NorthernTel
, Ontera
, and Persona Communications provide telecommunications services.
and the federal electoral district of Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing
. Its Member of Provincial Parliament is Gilles Bisson
, a New Democrat
, and its Member of Parliament is Carol Hughes
. Bisson's constituency office serves Smooth Rock Falls locally with weekly hours at Town Hall.
and 23 long-term care
beds, and its Cochrane District Detoxification Centre serves the larger region.
operates
Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes-Rivières
operates
For postsecondary education, a Contact North distance education
access centre serves the town. The Smooth Rock Falls Resource Centre offers Adult Education for those who want to upgrade or finish their grade 12 secondary school diploma.
Kapuskasing, provides community radio
service for the Franco-Ontarian
population.
and Smooth Rock Falls Curling
Club; the Smooth Rock Falls Golf Course (9 holes), a public library, and a public swimming pool.
Each year the town hosts the Smooth Truck Fest, a popular festival that features truck pulls and other motorized pull contests alongside children's activities, concerts, canoe races and much more.
Cochrane District, Ontario
Cochrane District, Ontario is a district and census division in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1921 from parts of Timiskaming and Thunder Bay districts....
in Northeastern
Northeastern Ontario
Northeastern Ontario is the region within the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north and east of Lakes Superior and Huron.Northeastern Ontario consists of the districts of Algoma, Sudbury, Cochrane, Timiskaming, Nipissing and Manitoulin; and the single-tier municipality of Greater...
Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Part of the James Bay Frontier, it calls itself "The North's
Northern Ontario
Northern Ontario is a region of the Canadian province of Ontario which lies north of Lake Huron , the French River and Lake Nipissing. The region has a land area of 802,000 km2 and constitutes 87% of the land area of Ontario, although it contains only about 6% of the population...
Biggest Little Town."
Geography and transportation
The town lies on the Mattagami RiverMattagami River
The Mattagami River is a river in the James Bay drainage basin in Cochrane District, Timiskaming District and Sudbury District in Northeastern Ontario, Canada....
and on Highway 11
Highway 11 (Ontario)
King's Highway 11 is a provincially maintained highway in the Canadian province of Ontario. At , it is the second longest highway in the province after Highway 17. Highway 11 begins at Highway 400 in Barrie, and arches through northern Ontario, around Lake Superior, to the Ontario–Minnesota border...
; on Highway 11, the next full-service towns in each direction are Cochrane
Cochrane, Ontario
Cochrane is a town in northern Ontario, Canada. It is located east of Kapuskasing, northeast of Timmins, south of Moosonee, and north of Iroquois Falls. It is about a one-hour drive from Timmins, the major city of the region. It is the seat of Cochrane District...
, about 59 km (37 mi) to the east and slightly south by road, and Kapuskasing, about 65 km (40 mi) to the west and slightly north. Highway 634
Highway 634 (Ontario)
Secondary Highway 634, also known as Highway 634, is a remote highway that travels through Northern Ontario from its southern terminus at Highway 11 in Smooth Rock Falls, Ontario to the Abitibi Canyon Generating Station at the community of Abitibi Canyon, Ontario.It is the second highway in...
connects Smooth Rock Falls northward with the tiny community of Fraserdale
Fraserdale, Ontario
Fraserdale is a small community and rail siding in Unorganized Cochrane, North Part in Cochrane District, Northern Ontario, Canada. It is located north of Timmins along the Ontario Northland Railway...
, and Highway 655
Highway 655 (Ontario)
Highway 655 is a secondary highway in the Cochrane District in Northern Ontario. The highway is about long. It is heavily used by trucks as a critical access road to Timmins...
, starting in Driftwood
Driftwood, Ontario
Driftwood is an unincorporated community in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in the Cochrane District on Highway 11 east of Smooth Rock Falls and west of Cochrane....
east of Smooth Rock Falls, provides easier access to Timmins
Timmins
Timmins is a city in northeastern Ontario, Canada on the Mattagami River. At the time of the Canada 2006 Census, Timmins' population was 42,997...
, the dominant regional centre, about 102 km (63 mi) south by that route.
The town is served by the Ontario Northland Railway
Ontario Northland Railway
The Ontario Northland Railway is a Canadian railway operated by the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, a provincial Crown agency of the government of Ontario....
for freight service, and by Ontario Northland passenger buses.
Demographics
As of the Canada 2006 CensusCanada 2006 Census
The Canada 2006 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 16, 2006. The next census following will be the 2011 Census. Canada's total population enumerated by the 2006 census was 31,612,897...
, the current population is 1,473, which is a drop of 19.5% from the Canada 2001 Census
Canada 2001 Census
The Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...
. The population reached its census peak of 2,208 in the 1986 census.
Population trend:
- 2006: 1473
- 2001: 1830
- 1996: 1982
- 1991: 2043
In 2001, approximately 45 were aboriginal
Aboriginal peoples in Canada
Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, Inuit and Métis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative....
, and approximately ten had been born outside of Canada. 1,530 residents identified their religion as Roman Catholic. Over 500 used French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
or some combination of English and French
Bilingualism in Canada
The official languages of Canada are English and French, which "have equality of status and equal rights and privileges as to their use in all institutions of the Parliament and Government of Canada" according to Canada's constitution...
most often at work. Unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
was substantially higher and workforce participation lower, but among all persons with income and among workers, annual incomes were higher than Ontario averages.
Residents constituted 535 families and 730 private households. 640 out of 730 occupied private dwellings were owner-occupied. Counting unoccupied homes, the town consisted of 862 private dwellings.
Economy
The Smooth Rock Falls economy was dominated by the TembecTembec
Tembec Inc. is a paper company in Canada. Tembec has approximately 6000 employees located in Canada, United States, and France. Tembec's operating divisions include Forest Products, Pulp, Paper & Paperboard, and Chemicals....
Malette pulp mill
Pulp mill
A pulp mill is a manufacturing facility that converts wood chips or other plant fibre source into a thick fibre board which can be shipped to a paper mill for further processing. Pulp can be manufactured using mechanical, semi-chemical or fully chemical methods...
, which was closed on November 5, 2006. Prior to that, the mill had been in a state of indefinite shutdown since July 31, 2006. The closure of the mill meant the loss of about 210 jobs.
The town of Smooth Rock Falls has made a series of announcements regarding community investments since Tembec's departure and the closure of the pulp mill. On July 13, 2007 a joint news conference between the town and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources revealed the former Tembec pulp mill would be converted into a value-added cedar plant. Quebec-based Hardy Cedar Lumber is expected to take control of the mill and will be provided with 50,000 cubic metres of cedar from the province. Operations could begin as early as March 2008. The cedar project could provide the community with as many as 44 full-time jobs.
One month prior to the cedar announcement, the town made public an investor's plan to build a new seniors retirement home, 80-100 room hotel and establish a new Indian restaurant. Nightingale Premier, an investment company based in Great Britain, first met with town officials in November 2006. The British company made its plans for a new seniors home, hotel and restaurant known on June 13, 2007.
NorthernTel
NorthernTel
NorthernTel is a telephone company in Ontario, Canada.NorthernTel began in April 1905 in New Liskeard, Ontario, as the Temiskaming Telephone Company. It grew by buying other regional telephone providers and became the Northern Telephone Company Ltd. in 1928...
, Ontera
Ontera
Ontera is a telecommunications company in Ontario, Canada. It is a subsidiary of the Ontario Northland Transportation Commission, an "operational enterprise" of the Government of Ontario....
, and Persona Communications provide telecommunications services.
Politics
Smooth Rock Falls is part of the provincial electoral district of Timmins—James BayTimmins—James Bay
Timmins—James Bay is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1997. Its population in 2001 was 84,001....
and the federal electoral district of Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing
Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing
Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 2004...
. Its Member of Provincial Parliament is Gilles Bisson
Gilles Bisson
Gilles Bisson is a Franco-Ontarian Canadian politician who has represented the northern riding of Timmins—James Bay in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario since 1990...
, a New Democrat
Ontario New Democratic Party
The Ontario New Democratic Party or , formally known as New Democratic Party of Ontario, is a social democratic political party in Ontario, Canada. It is a provincial section of the federal New Democratic Party. It was formed in October 1961, a few months after the federal party. The ONDP had its...
, and its Member of Parliament is Carol Hughes
Carol Hughes
Carol Hughes is a Canadian politician, who has represented the electoral district of Algoma—Manitoulin—Kapuskasing in the Canadian House of Commons since 2008. She is a member of the New Democratic Party....
. Bisson's constituency office serves Smooth Rock Falls locally with weekly hours at Town Hall.
Health care
The Smooth Rock Falls Hospital includes 14 acute careAcute care
Acute care is a branch of secondary health care where a patient receives active but short-term treatment for a severe injury or episode of illness, an urgent medical condition, or during recovery from surgery...
and 23 long-term care
Long-term care
Long-term care is a variety of services which help meet both the medical and non-medical need of people with a chronic illness or disability who cannot care for themselves for long periods of time....
beds, and its Cochrane District Detoxification Centre serves the larger region.
Education
District School Board Ontario North EastDistrict School Board Ontario North East
District School Board Ontario North East, also known as DSBONE, is an English Public School Board serving Northeastern Ontario from Hearst to Temagami. The school board headquarters are located in Timmins, Ontario...
operates
- Smooth Rock Falls Public School (JK-8)
- Smooth Rock Falls Secondary School
Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes-Rivières
Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes-Rivières
Le Conseil scolaire catholique de district des Grandes-Rivières is a French Catholic school board situated in northern Ontario. The easternmost region of the school board starts in Haileybury. The board covers much of the northern corridor of Highway 11 reaching as far north as Hearst...
operates
- L'École catholique Georges-Vanier.
For postsecondary education, a Contact North distance education
Distance education
Distance education or distance learning is a field of education that focuses on teaching methods and technology with the aim of delivering teaching, often on an individual basis, to students who are not physically present in a traditional educational setting such as a classroom...
access centre serves the town. The Smooth Rock Falls Resource Centre offers Adult Education for those who want to upgrade or finish their grade 12 secondary school diploma.
Media
CKGN-1, a repeater of CKGN-FMCKGN-FM
CKGN-FM is a Canadian radio station, broadcasting at 89.7 FM in Kapuskasing, Ontario and 94.7 FM in Smooth Rock Falls.Owned and operated by Radio communautaire KapNord cooperative, it is a non-profit community radio station for the region's franco-ontarian community.-History of the CKGN call...
Kapuskasing, provides community radio
Community radio
Community radio is a type of radio service, that offers a third model of radio broadcasting beyond commercial broadcasting and public broadcasting. Community stations can serve geographic communities and communities of interest...
service for the Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarian
Franco-Ontarians are French Canadian or francophone residents of the Canadian province of Ontario. They are sometimes known as "Ontarois"....
population.
Attractions
Town attractions include the Reg Lamy Cultural Centre, which includes a hockey arenaHockey rink
An ice hockey rink is an ice rink that is specifically designed for ice hockey, a team sport. It is rectangular with rounded corners and surrounded by a wall approximately 40 inches high called the boards.- Name origins :...
and Smooth Rock Falls Curling
Curling
Curling is a sport in which players slide stones across a sheet of ice towards a target area. It is related to bowls, boule and shuffleboard. Two teams, each of four players, take turns sliding heavy, polished granite stones, also called "rocks", across the ice curling sheet towards the house, a...
Club; the Smooth Rock Falls Golf Course (9 holes), a public library, and a public swimming pool.
Each year the town hosts the Smooth Truck Fest, a popular festival that features truck pulls and other motorized pull contests alongside children's activities, concerts, canoe races and much more.
Notable people from Smooth Rock Falls
Notable people from Smooth Rock Falls include:- Jeffrey ButtleJeffrey ButtleJeffrey Buttle is a Canadian figure skater. He is the 2006 Winter Olympics bronze medalist, the 2008 World champion, the 2002 & 2004 Four Continents champion and the 2005-2007 Canadian champion. On March 22, 2008, Buttle became the first Canadian man since Elvis Stojko in 1997 to win the World Title...
, figure skater - Louise PitreLouise PitreLouise Pitre is an actress in musical theatre on Broadway and in Canada. She is best known for her role as Donna Sheridan in the ABBA-themed musical Mamma Mia!, which earned her a 2002 Tony Award nomination.-Biography:...
, singer and actress - J. P. Parisé, NHL/ Team Canada 1972 hockey left winger, and father of NHL hockey forward Zach PariseZach PariseZachary Justin Parise is an American professional ice hockey left winger of French-Canadian origin and captain of the New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League . Parise's father, J. P...
- Charlotte L'ÉcuyerCharlotte L'ÉcuyerCharlotte L'Écuyer is a politician in Quebec, Canada. She is the current Member of the National Assembly of Quebec for the riding of Pontiac in Western Quebec and a member of the Quebec Liberal Party caucus.She went to the Université du Québec à Hull and obtained a bachelor's degree in...
, Quebec politician and current Member of National AssemblyNational Assembly of QuebecThe National Assembly of Quebec is the legislative body of the Province of Quebec. The Lieutenant Governor and the National Assembly compose the Parliament of Quebec, which operates in a fashion similar to those of other British-style parliamentary systems.The National Assembly was formerly the...
of PontiacPontiac (provincial electoral district)Pontiac is a provincial electoral district in Quebec, Canada that elects members to the National Assembly of Quebec.The provincial electoral district existed over two distinct periods The first period began with its creation in 1854 and ended in 1973, when Pontiac was merged with Témiscamingue to... - Patricia O'CallaghanPatricia O'CallaghanPatricia Mary O'Callaghan is a Canadian soprano singer.She spent her childhood in various Northern Ontario towns and in Pine Falls, Manitoba, considering whether her career should be in rock music or in a convent. Her first teacher was Rosanne Simunovic from Timmins...
, singer (born in DrydenDryden, OntarioDryden is the second-largest city in the Kenora District of Northwestern Ontario, Canada, located on Wabigoon Lake. It is the smallest community in the province of Ontario designated as a city...
, and raised in part here) - Dick MattiussiDick MattiussiRichard Arthur "Dick" Mattiussi is a retired professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League.-Playing career:...
, NHL and AHL hockey player
External links
- Town of Smooth Rock Falls
- Community Adjustment Committee final report, September 2005