Ravi Parmar

“This is an immensely difficult day for the Sunshine Coast. These are not just jobs, these are livelihoods that have supported families and communities for generations…. “We have been engaging with the company to better understand the full scope of the challenges it is facing. We are prepared to work through the cross-government working group to identify practical, long-term solutions. This work will be most effective with Domtar in the process and a shared focus on maintaining a strong presence in BC. “BC’s pulp sector is feeling the effects of a seismic shift in the global pulp market. We are currently approaching the lowest pulp prices in 100 years. …We will be reaching out to the Sunshine Coast community immediately… to ensure people get the support they need. 

Truck Loggers Association: The TLA is, once again, deeply disappointed by today’s announcement. …This latest announcement follows other recent mill closures and reinforces the serious challenges facing BC’s forest sector. The consequences extend well beyond the mills, affecting workers, independent logging and forestry contractors, local businesses and communities throughout the coastal supply chain. With the indefinite curtailment of yet another BC pulp mill, the viability and stability of the entire coastal forest sector is increasingly at risk. …The TLA continues to call on all government to take decisive action to improve access to economically viable fibre, address BC’s high-cost operating environment and create the conditions needed to sustain forestry jobs, contractors and rural communities. 

Council of Forest Industries: BC’s forest sector is facing extraordinary pressures. In particular, the pulp sector has been hit with reduced demand from Asia, sustained weak global prices, and increasing costs and constraints on local wood supply. While we cannot control market cycles or trade disputes, we can improve the conditions for forestry here at home. That starts with a focus on competitiveness. BC needs more predictable and economic access to wood supply and a regulatory and cost environment that keeps mills operating and attracts investment. …Industry stands ready to work with government to reverse the trend of closures and curtailments in the pulp sector. Improving the conditions within our control will help make BC forestry more resilient, protect jobs and communities, and better position the sector to withstand changing global markets.”

PORT MELLON, BC — Domtar announced the indefinite idling of its affiliates’ operations at both the Howe Sound mill and Bayview Fibre chipping facility in Port Mellon, British Columbia.  The decision will remove approximately 380,000 metric tons of northern bleached softwood kraft (NBSK) pulp from the market annually. The announcement will affect approximately 400 employees.  “Despite capital investment of nearly CAD$500 million since the mill was purchased in 2010, and the construction of the Bayview Fibre facility, the business cannot overcome reduced demand from Asia, unprecedented and sustained poor pricing for pulp globally, and a decline in affordable domestic fiber,” said Luc Thériault, Domtar’s President – Canada and CEO, Pulp and Wood Products. …The business will monitor market conditions, domestic fiber availability and the overall business environment, and will evaluate future opportunities if conditions improve,” stated Thériault.