'It's been life-changing': Unsettled N.L. refinery workers in little mood to celebrate this Christmas

The uplifting ritual of coming home to his young family each evening has been upended for Larry Eddy, and as a result, the Bay Roberts resident says he's in no mood to celebrate this Christmas.

"It's been life-changing for me," said Eddy, a 30-year-old husband and father of two little girls.

Eddy is one of hundreds of workers at the oil refinery in Come By Chance whose lives have been thrown into turmoil this year after the facility stopped producing fuels more than eight months ago.

So instead of celebrating with his family, Eddy will be working a new job at a refinery outside Fort McMurray, Alta.

"I had a tough decision to make," Eddy said during an early morning FaceTime interview.

"Do I stay home and wait (through) the uncertainty, and have a small Christmas around my kids, or do I take this job and watch my kids' Christmas through an iPhone? It was a very tough call to make, but I still feel with the uncertainty I made the right one."

Refinery no match for a pandemic

Eddy says 2020 has been hard for him and his co-workers, some of whom are working side by side with him in Fort McMurray.

"I'm not feeling very good, actually," he said. "Every night I try to go to sleep after work and I wonder if I made the right decision because I'm so far away from my kids."

Owner North Atlantic Refining Limited idled the 130,000-barrel-a-day refinery in Placentia Bay on March 28 as the global pandemic began causing havoc with international oil markets, with the company saying it was no longer economically viable to operate.

It's been a series of painful twists and turns ever since for the workers, with various deals to sell the refinery either crumbling at the last minute, or rejected by New York-based Silverpeak, which owns North Atlantic.

In one of its last statements in mid-November, a Silverpeak spokersperson wrote,"We will continue our diligent efforts to find a sustainable solution for the refinery and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador."

According to the provincial government, the refinery contributed some $300 million to the province's economy in 2019, representing roughly one per cent of Newfoundland and Labrador's gross domestic product, and nearly one per cent of total employment.

Prior to its shutdown, the refinery directly employed 400 full-time employees and about 200 contract workers.

'A lot of them are stressed'

But with the refinery now in what's called warm idle mode, roughly 100 workers are needed, and there are no guarantees the refinery will reopen.

"It's not a mood for celebration this Christmas," said Glenn Nolan, president of Local 9316 of the United Steelworkers' Union, which represents most of the workers at North Atlantic.

Nolan is in close contact with his members, and describes widespread anxiety and financial insecurity among them.

"Their bills are piling up. They don't have medical insurance for their family, from their dental to their drugs, and a lot of them need counselling and don't have insurance for that to help them out. A lot of them are stressed and worry about their young families and their futures," said Nolan.

CBC News spoke with a handful of displaced refinery workers who declined a recorded interview, but spoke of the hardship and uncertainty in their lives.

One single parent who has worked more than a dozen years at the refinery immediately started crying, and said, through a breaking voice, that it's been a "rough time."

One of the lucky ones?

With thousands of trades workers already unemployed, the job market is bleak for those wondering how they will get by once their employment insurance benefits expire.

Some predict a large exodus from the province if the refinery is eventually closed, which will affect communities from all over eastern Newfoundland, especially places like Clarenville and Arnold's Cove.

Larry Eddy is one of the lucky ones. At least, he keeps trying to convince himself that's the case.

After months of joblessness, he landed a full-time position in Alberta earlier this month with essentially the same duties he had at Come By Chance, where he worked as a process operator.

I'm really giving up Christmas with my family to do this. I'm giving up a lot of things I'm not going to be able to buy back.- Larry Eddy

But he's not a rotational worker like thousands of other Newfoundlanders and Labradorians earning a living out west, which means he's not flying home for regular visits every three or four weeks.

Now he's maintaining a home and caring for a family in Bay Roberts, while paying living expenses in Alberta.

Depending on how the situation evolves with the refinery, Eddy says there may come a point when he has to relocate his entire family to Alberta.

Holding out hope for Come By Chance

But he's holding out hope that the refinery will eventually be sold, and reopened by a new operator, so he can return to his home province and share a life with his family that is not limited to unfulfilling video chats.

"I have a good job here. I should be celebrating, but no, I'm on two minds about it, because it's such a tough decision to make," he said. 

"I'm really giving up Christmas with my family to do this. I'm giving up a lot of things I'm not going to be able to buy back."

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