Region Archives: Canada East

This isn’t the first time the pulp mill in Terrace Bay shut its doors indefinitely. In the early 2000s, the mill was previously owned by Thunder Bay-based Buchanan Group and was shut down when it went into receivership. The effect of the Jan. 2 shutdown impacted the surrounding communities in many different ways. For the Municipality of Greenstone, in particular, the sawmills in Nakina and Longlac will need to look further than Terrace Bay to ensure their products get out to market. “It impacts everybody — the local businesses, it impacts the trucking companies, it impacts the fuel suppliers, it impacts all the people who drive the equipment in the bush from hauling to harvesting to laying out the blocks to road-building,” said Greenstone Mayor Jamie McPherson.

TORONTO — GreenFirst Forest Products announced that it has successfully completed the previously announced decentralization of its lumber mill and paper mill operations. In connection with the decentralization, Terry Skiffington has been engaged as Chief Executive Officer of the paper mill division. Mr. Skiffington is a skilled executive with a broad range of experience in the pulp and paper sector in Canada and globally. …Paul Rivett, Executive Chair of GreenFirst said, “We are excited to welcome Terry as CEO of Kapuskasing paper mill, as he brings a valuable wealth of knowledge and experience with him.” “The completion of the decentralization and the appointment of Terry as CEO of the Kapuskasing paper mill will allow both businesses to focus on improving operational efficiencies going forward,” said Joel Fournier, CEO of GreenFirst.

The union hall in Terrace Bay, Ontario, was packed wall to wood-panelled wall with restless steelworkers. People checked out pamphlets about applying for unemployment insurance and looked through lists of job search websites as they came to terms with the shutdown of the AV Terrace Bay pulp mill earlier this month. …It has been a crushing blow that’s left people anxious about the future, reflecting scenes that have played out in mill towns across Canada in recent years. There’s no word on when or if the Terrace Bay mill will reopen, if ever, or what the company plans to do — whether that means reopening it when market conditions improve or selling it to another company. …Kathy Howe said workers were blindsided by the closure, and questioned why they weren’t given more notice from owners and management. …Mill closures have a domino effect — local businesses often suffer too.

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. — The Town of Kensington is frustrated about losing out on a $150 million project which would have brought a woodchips-to-renewable diesel plant to the community. The proponent, SustainAgro, would have processed 40,000 tonnes of wood chips annually to produce renewable diesel fuel; secondary marketable byproducts would have included biochar, wood vinegar and graphene. The company expected to employ about 30 people initially. But somewhere along the way the project’s provincial environmental approval stalled and SutainAgro has since shifted its focus to Thunder Bay, Ont., as the frontrunner for its facility. Kensington council expressed frustration at being warned off from doing business with SustainAgro by provincial officials for unspecified reasons. To date, the town has been unable to find out what those reasons were. SustainAgro CEO Joey O’Brian…“We have accomplished as much in three days in Northern Ontario as it took us in one year in P.E.I.,” wrote O’Brian.

GREENSTONE, Ontario – This isn’t the first time the pulp mill in Terrace Bay shut its doors indefinitely. In the early 2000s, the mill was previously owned by Thunder Bay-based Buchanan Group and was shut down when it went into receivership. The effect of the shutdown impacted the surrounding communities. For the Municipality of Greenstone, the sawmills in Nakina and Longlac will need to look further than Terrace Bay to ensure their products get out to market. “It impacts everybody – the local businesses, it impacts the trucking companies, it impacts the fuel suppliers, it impacts all the people who drive the equipment in the bush from hauling to harvesting to laying out the blocks to road building,” said Greenstone Mayor Jamie McPherson. …McPherson stresses federal programs are available and the municipality will aid those affected by the Terrace Bay Mill closure.

Former Domtar employees who are being laid off with the pulp and paper mill’s closure, are receiving help to find new employment. It’s been almost six weeks since the first round of layoffs took place at the mill in Espanola on November 30. In September, Domtar announced it would indefinitely shut down the plant, leading to more than 450 employees losing their jobs. To help workers cope with job losses and find new employment, the Unifor Action Centre was set up and opened its doors in December. …The Ontario government invested $426,000 into the Action Centre. Domtar and Unifor Local 74 are also investing $184,600 into the centre. …Dubreuil said the action centre is planning to hold a number of job workshops in January, in preparation for the second round of Domtar layoffs taking place on January 19. A third round of layoffs is expected in the spring.

Remi G. Lalonde

MONTREAL — Canadian National has hired a former forest products company chief executive, Remi G. Lalonde, to lead its marketing and sales efforts. CN, which is the largest hauler of forest products in North America, today named Lalonde as its executive vice president and special advisor to the CEO, a role he’ll hold until he transitions to chief commercial officer later this year. …“The role of CCO is of the utmost importance. The diversity of his experience, including as a railway customer and as a CEO, positions him well to lead the sales and marketing team. He will play an instrumental role in accelerating sustainable, profitable growth,” said CEO Tracy Robinson. As CEO and chief financial officer of Montreal-based Resolute Forest Products, Lalonde executed strategy, managed regulatory matters, engaged with Indigenous communities and stakeholders, headed manufacturing operations, and worked with investors and suppliers. 

TERRACE BAY, Ontario – With the surprise announcement of Aditya Birla Group shutting down AV Terrace Bay Pulp Mill indefinitely, District Six of the Steelworkers Union are stating that they will be assisting their members in any way they can. …Cody JG Alexander, Staff Representative for District Six, said: “this announcement puts forward a very unfortunate situation for our members and the entire community. We will remain optimistic that this is a temporary idling of the pulp mill and that our members will be back making good wages, sooner than later.” He acknowledged that the Union will help the nearly 300 represented workers. …“This idling not only impacts all the workers at the mill, but also the forestry workers who provide products, and all the spin-off industries and businesses that benefit from the mill’s continued operations.”

The Terrace Bay Pulp Mill in northwestern Ontario is temporarily shutting down, while the mayor and union representing mill workers say they’re trying to stay positive. …The type of pulp produced in Terrace Bay is premium grade, said pulp industry analyst Brian McClay, of Trade Tree Online and Brian McClay & Associates. “It’s really the best pulp fibre in the world,” he said. As mills producing NBSK shut down, manufacturers could face greater difficulty and higher expenses in making these products, and consumers could find themselves paying more for flimsier toilet paper. …Mayor Paul Malashewski said he’s optimistic the mill will reopen. …Currently, pulp prices are low and demand is weak, said McClay. Pulp mills are expensive to operate and maintain, he said. “It’s not just a question of where the market is today; it’s what companies have to spend to keep the mills in decent running order.”

TERRACE BAY — Anxiety is building in Terrace Bay and Schreiber in the wake of the announcement of the idling of Aditya Birla’s pulp mill. Some community leaders are already wondering if the Ontario government might be able to intervene, or whether a new operator might be found. The company disclosed Tuesday that pulp production is being halted indefinitely because of prevailing market conditions. It said about 400 employees are affected by the shutdown, which Terrace Bay Mayor Paul Malashewski described Wednesday as “sad news, for sure.” …In 2012, India-based multinational Aditya Birla acquired the bankrupt Terrace Bay Pulp for a reported $300 million after the Ontario government forgave $24 million in outstanding loans. …The mayor of neighbouring Schreiber, Kevin Mullins, said it’s troubling that there is no date for resuming production …Natural Resources and Forestry Minister Graydon Smith [said] the government will do everything it can to get the mill running again.

Terrace Bay, ON – Terrace Bay is starting 2024 with some terrible economic and socio-economic news. The community’s largest employer, AV Terrace Bay, a part of the Aditya Birla group, has announced a temporary shutdown of its Terrace Bay pulp mill due to prevailing market conditions. The company made the announcement late on Tuesday, saying the move is effective immediately. The decision will impact 400 employees at the facility. The decision to halt production at the Terrace Bay pulp mill is attributed to the current market conditions. AV Terrace Bay emphasized that this shutdown is temporary in nature. During this period, the mill will be placed in a state of “warm idle,” a measure taken to facilitate a potential future restart. However, the company has not provided a specific timeline for when operations might resume. AV Terrace Bay  spokesperson stated that there will be no additional statements or interviews at this time.

By law, Nova Scotia Power has to generate 80% of electricity from renewable sources by 2030. Last September, the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board (UARB) ordered Nova Scotia Power to file “a detailed and specific plan” outlining how and when that will happen. The filing deadline was December 31, and yesterday the UARB posted Nova Scotia’s Power’s 46-page response entitled ‘The Path to 2030.’ ‘The Path to 2030’ states that a working group that includes Nova Scotia Power personnel and Department of Natural Resources and Renewables staff will coordinate provincial and utility efforts to meet the 80% renewable goal. …Port Hawkesbury Paper Wind, a sister company to Port Hawkesbury Paper, is developing a large 168 MW wind farm to support the operation of the paper mill. It’s expected to begin operating late in 2025. 

CORNER BROOK, N.L. — Corner Brook Pulp and Paper had to be evacuated early on Monday, Dec. 18, after a fire occurred inside the paper mill. A spokesperson for the mill’s parent company, Kruger, said no injuries had been reported and it was too early to know the extent of the damage caused by the fire or if there are any impacts on operations at the mill. The fire is reported to have started before 6:30 a.m. as area residents have said they were awoken by the mill’s whistle around that time. The mill has an internal fire brigade, but the spokesperson confirmed for SaltWire that the Corner Brook Fire Department was called in to assist with the fire which she said was mostly contained by 10 a.m. [END]

ESPANOLA, Ontario —Having been in place for about six weeks, the Unifor (Domtar) Action Centre has already been a benefit to laid-off employees of the Domtar Pulp and Paper company, a union representative told The Expositor after the grand opening of the centre last week. “I think we’re still far away from everyone now being employed,” stated Dustin Drouin, Unifor Local 156 president, after a funding announcement was made by the province at the grand opening of the action centre, held December 12. …“We have had 215 employees that have had needs come through the action centre,” said Mr. Drouin. The Ontario government is investing $426,000 in the new action centre to help the 484 pulp and paper workers impacted by the Domtar layoffs in Espanola get back to work quickly. Mr. Drouin added that the action centre will remain open until October 31, 2024.

The Origin Materials chemical plant in Ontario began commercial production this past summer, and converts wood residues into the building blocks used to produce plastic materials for containers, textiles, car parts, and fuels. …[the] company is taking its show on the road to Louisiana, after accepting $23 million in federal funding in 2019 to build its first commercial plant in Canada. It’s disappointing that the Canadian forest industry, will seemingly not benefit further from the ramping up of this technology, despite the fact that Canadian tax dollars were used to pay for a significant portion of this commercial demonstration plant. When we asked whether they approached any Canadian forest companies to potentially partner with them on the commercial ramp-up of this technology, and if not, why not, Origin Materials did not respond to this query from Logging and Sawmilling Journal. …Hopefully a pathway can still be found to write a Canadian chapter to that story beyond Sarnia.