At the end of the day on Friday, the Windsor Star printing plant in Windsor will close, and 75 people will lose their jobs.
Windsor's Mayor fears the impact it will have on local journalism.
"Closing down an entire printing plant for an organization, that has a very rich and storied history in the city. I think it paints a different picture of what's happening in the media sector in general," said Drew Dilkens. "There are lots of people and lots of purported news sources that will try and fill that void and put information out there that is factual."
Dilkens is sounding the alarm.
"I really think this is an issue of paramount importance for democracy, and we need to figure this out sooner rather than later," he added. "If you continue to let this situation slip much further, you can never know who is going to get elected, and what they may or may not do."
The plant's closure marks the end of an era in local journalism. The Windsor Star has been printed locally since 1918.
Postmedia, the paper's owner, decided in January to print the Star in Toronto, ship it to London for insertion, and then down Hwy. 401 for delivery in Windsor.
Unifor Local 517-G President Brian Colin believes the decision will impact the timely delivery of the paper to its subscribers.
Reporters with the Windsor Star have been working from home since the start of the pandemic, and Postmedia permanently closed its newsroom a year ago in a deal with the University of Windsor.
Its precious archives, a detailed accounting of the city's history, could go to Leddy Library at the university.
University Archivist Sarah Glassford told WindsorNewsToday.ca the library told Postmedia it would like to become the archives' new home.
"We very much hope to soon welcome the Windsor Star archives as a new collection within the Leddy Library Archives and Special Collections, and are doing all we can to prepare for that eventuality," she wrote in an email. "At the present time, we await word from Postmedia as to whether the donation will proceed."
Earlier this week, Brian pleaded with Windsor City Council to send Post Media a letter urging it to reconsider its decision.
Councillors agreed unanimously, pledging to send a copy of the letter to area MPPs, MPs, and school boards.