The Catalyst Crofton Paper Excellence mill is in the midst of a month-long curtailment, affecting about 450 total employees from the Public and Private Workers of Canada Local 2 and from Unifor Local 1132. Paper Excellence announced in May it would temporarily curtail its Crofton facility for 30 days starting June 30 and lasting until July 31 when full crews are due to return. “The downtime will result in associated reduced production of pulp and paper,” noted Graham Kissack, Paper Excellence Canada’s VP. …Some maintenance work has been continuing at the mill while employees with vacation time owing have opted to use it to minimize the impacts of the shutdown. Kissack added market conditions are continuing to be monitored and a decision will be made in the next couple of weeks about the scheduled restart. The issue of the Cowichan River that feeds the mill is also a concern for the company during these hot and dry summers.