Flin Flon

Wikipedia:

Flin Flon (pop. 5,592 in 2011 census; 5,363 in Manitoba and 229 in Saskatchewan) is a Canadian mining city located on the border of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city located within Manitoba.

History

Founding

Flin Flon was founded in 1927 by Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting (HBM&S) to exploit the large copper and zinc ore resources in the region. In the 1920s, HBM&S invested in a railway, mine, smelter, and a hydroelectric power plant at Island Falls, Saskatchewan. By 1928 the rail line reached the mine.

The town grew considerably during the 1930s as farmers, who were impoverished by the Great Depression, abandoned their farms and came to work at the mines. The municipality was incorporated on January 1, 1933, and in 1970, the community reached city status. The city has continued to be a mining centre with the development of several mines adding to its industrial base, although its population has been in decline. With a scenic setting and a number of nearby lakes, Flin Flon has also become a moderately popular tourist destination.

Origin of the name

The town's name is taken from the lead character in a paperback novel, The Sunless City by J. E. Preston Muddock. Josiah Flintabbatey Flonatin piloted a submarine through a bottomless lake where he passed into a strange underground world through a hole lined with gold. A copy of the book was allegedly found and read by prospector Tom Creighton.

When Tom Creighton discovered a high-grade exposure of copper, he thought of the book and called it Flin Flon's mine, and the town that developed around the mine adopted the name. Flin Flon shares with Tarzana, California, the distinction of being named after a character in a science fiction novel.

The character of "Flinty", as he is locally known, is of such importance to the identity of the city that the local Chamber of Commerce commissioned the minting of a $3.00 coin which was considered legal tender amongst locally participating retailers during the year following its issue. A statue representing Flinty was designed by cartoonist Al Capp and is one of the points of interest of the city. In 1978, the National Film Board of Canada produced the short documentary Canada Vignettes: Flin Flon about the origin of the city's name.

Geography and climate

Flin Flon straddles the provincial border of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, with the majority of the city being located in Manitoba. The 2011 census reported 5,363 residents in the Manitoba portion and only 229 in the Saskatchewan section; the Manitoba portion has a land area of 13.88 km, while the Saskatchewan portion has a land area of 2.37 km. Due to the zig-zagging nature of the Saskatchewan-Manitoba border, the Saskatchewan section of town lies south of the Manitoba section, not west. The city's Main Street crosses the provincial boundary just south of its intersection with Church Street; Hudson Street crosses the provincial boundary between its intersections with 5 Ave E. and Harrison Street, adopting the new name South Hudson Street at the point of crossing; an undeveloped stretch of Channing Drive briefly crosses into Saskatchewan before reentering Manitoba just west of the city's rural Channing neighbourhood.

The town of Creighton, Saskatchewan, is immediately adjacent to Flin Flon. Nearby lakes include Kipahigan Lake.

The majority of Flin Flon's surface topology is exposed Canadian Shield bedrock, hence the nickname "the city built on rock". Due to this and climatic factors, agriculture is generally not possible, although grain farming is found 130 km southeast in The Pas, Manitoba.

Flin Flon has a humid continental climate (Köppen climate classification Dfb) that is on the borderline between humid continental and subarctic (Köppen Dfc). Flin Flon experiences a wide range in seasonal temperatures, with warm summers and very cold winters. Temperatures in January have an average low of −25 °C (−13.0 °F) and an average high of −16 °C (3.2 °F). Temperatures in July have an average high of 24 °C (75.2 °F) and an average low of 13 °C (55.4 °F).

Transportation

Road

Flin Flon is accessed by Manitoba Provincial Trunk Highway 10 and Saskatchewan Highway 106. The city has daily Greyhound and Grey Goose bus service. The city also runs a small public bus system.

Air

The city operates Flin Flon Airport (YFO), which is located southeast of the city. The airport has a single 1,524m asphalt runway, and has regular flights to and from Winnipeg through Calm Air and Bearskin Airlines.

Rail

The Hudson Bay Railway operates railway freight service on its railway line between The Pas and Flin Flon.

Economy

Main employers

Mining

The economy of Flin Flon is primarily based on copper and zinc mining, chiefly Hudbay Minerals Co. Ltd/Hudson Bay Mining & Smelting's 777 Mine (including Callinan lenses) and Trout Lake Mine (slated for shutdown in 2012). Sphalerite concentrate is produced and then treated on-site to produce zinc, while chalcopyrite concentrate is produced and then sold for external copper production, a result of the HBM&S smelter closure in July 2010. Although processing of any sulfide material (in this case zinc) usually emits large amounts of sulfur dioxide, the HBM&S plant uses a zinc pressure leaching process which greatly reduces emissions.

Marijuana production

Flin Flon gained international notoriety in 2002 when the Government of Canada awarded a four-year contract to a Saskatoon-based company for the production of medicinal marijuana. Prairie Plant Systems, based in Saskatoon, used an inactive underground copper/zinc drift owned by the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company to produce approximately 400 kilograms of medicinal marijuana annually. The entire operation was situated several hundred metres under Flin Flon for security and climate control reasons.

Since the original stock of marijuana seeds were obtained from Royal Canadian Mounted Police drug raids, there was some lack of consistency in the early crops of medicinal marijuana. After selective use of seeds from the first crop, subsequent generations have shown to have a more consistent quality.

In 2009, Prairie Plant Systems discontinued operation at the mine due to the ending of their lease and the uncertainty regarding the pending closure of the Trout Lake mine.

Culture

Sports

Flin Flon is the home of the Flin Flon Bombers of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League and the birthplace of NHL great and Hall of Fame member Bobby Clarke. As captain of the team, he led the Philadelphia Flyers to NHL Championships in the 1970s, and was also a star on Team Canada 1972 in the Summit Series. Other NHLers hailing from Flin Flon include Ken Baird, Ken Baumgartner, Matt Davidson, Kim Davis, Dean Evason, Al Hamilton, Ted Hampson (who was the second player to ever receive the Bill Masterton Trophy), Gerry Hart, Ron Hutchinson, George Konik, Ray Maluta, Dunc McCallum, Eric Nesterenko, Mel Pearson, Reid Simpson, David Struch and Ernie Wakely.

Media

CBWBT first went on the air in June 1962. The station broadcast kine recordings, sent to the transmitter from CBWT. On March 1, 1969, the province-wide microwave system replaced the kine recordings; citizens of Flin Flon have had access to live television since then.

Shaw Communications operates a community programming channel; CATV Channel 11: Shaw TV

Law and government

Municipal

The operations of the City of Flin Flon are administered by the city council, whose members set the policies. The city council consists of a mayor and six councillors who are elected and serve a term of four years. The current council was elected on October 27, 2010, and consists of the following members:

Provincial

Flin Flon is in the southwest corner of the Manitoba provincial electoral district of the same name, and is the only urban centre within the district. The current Member of the Legislative Assembly is NDP Clarence Pettersen, who was elected in the 2011 election.

The Saskatchewan portion of Flin Flon is in the electoral district of Cumberland. It is represented by Doyle Vermette of the NDP.

Federal

Flin Flon, Manitoba, is in the federal riding of Churchill. The current Member of Parliament is NDP member Niki Ashton, who with 10,236 votes defeated Conservative Wally Daudrich (5253 votes) and Liberal Sydney Garrioch (4071 votes) in the 2011 General Election.

The Saskatchewan portion of Flin Flon is in the electoral district of Desnethé—Missinippi—Churchill River, whose current Member of Parliament is Conservative Rob Clarke.