By some measures British Columbia is Canada's province with the widest economic inequality -- and the small northern town of Houston, where a mill is closing, is scraping bottom for reasons beyond the control of residents who bet their futures on living there. Tyee Solutions Society reporter Katie Hyslop and photographer Christopher Grabowski spent a wintery week in Houston learning how news of the impending Houston Forest Products mill closure was shaking up lives. The team sought, as well, insights about how the province could be more resilient to the boom and bust cycles of an increasingly globalized resource economy.
In This Series
In Hard Luck Houston, Kids Lose Key Supports to Cope
Funding woes leave struggling mill town's youth programs in limbo.
In One Small Town, a BC Story of Ups and Downs
Welcome to Houston, where the mill is closing and lives and dreams hang in the balance. First in a series.
'We Dedicated Our Lives to this Mill'
In Houston, sudden news of shutdown is crashing house values, and life plans. Second in a series.
Ready or Not? More Mill Closures Coming to BC
'Government knew we were within the window of mill closures': former MLA.
Newfoundlanders' Fortunes Found and Lost in BC
Thirty years ago, BC mills beckoned with stable work -- as did the cod fishery of the east. Fourth in a series.
In Hard Luck Houston, a Glimpse of Good News
Last-minute gov't funding means aboriginal youth program will return in tough times. Last in a series.