On Oct. 30, 554 days after the lockout began, a half dozen workers gathered at the site of their former employer to bid farewell to a longtime operation.

"It's a sad day," said Fred Cronshaw, president of UFCW Local 416P, which represents the 52 workers. "A lot of these workers have been here for 30-plus years."

The 52 employees signed a closure agreement in July after the company announced it would close its Port Colborne operation. At the time company spokesperson Rob Meijer said the closure is a result of a number of factors including high fuel costs, the rise of the Canadian dollar and appreciation of commodity prices.

Cronshaw wasn't shocked by the closure announcement, but said the federal government could have, and should have, done more to protect workers.

He said free trade has opened a lot of bad doors for Canada.

"American companies come in here and buy Canadian companies, they take the parts they like and move it to the United States," he said. "There isn't enough protection for our workers here."

Cronshaw said of the 61 workers who were locked out last April, nine were able to retire. The remaining 52 have had a tough time finding work in a region where jobs are being cut left, right and centre he said.

"The young guys were able to find work pretty quick, but they took a huge pay cut," he said. "But we had a number of guys who have been working there for 30 or so years and were a few years from retiring. It's harder for them to get jobs."

A job action centre was set up for employees of the former Robin Hood Mill at the union hall on Durham Street. Employment Ontario and the YMCA, along with the union, have teamed up to provide the locked out workers with access to job information.

However, Cronshaw said the jobs being posted at the centre pay much lower than Horizon.

He said on average workers were making $22 an hour. The workers who have been able to find jobs are making in the range of $10 an hour he said.

"It's the younger guys I feel bad for," said Brad Jinks, who worked at the mill for 36 years. "They have mortgages and families to feed.

"As for me, I had plans and those plans have had to change. I was four years from retirement and now I have to find a job."

Following the closure announcement in the summer, Meijer said the company has no plans to sell the facility.

The Robin Hood Flour Mill opened on Elm Street in the 1940s. The facility was taken over by the J.M. Smucker Company in 2004 and came into operation by Horizon Milling two years later.

Horizon Milling operates two other Canadian processing plants one in Montreal and one in Saskatoon.