Chuck LeBlanc

Last week’s announcement of Canfor’s plan to indefinitely curtail production of one of its two pulp lines at Prince George’s Northwood Pulp & Timber hit like a bad case in indigestion for Chuck LeBlanc, president of Public Private Workers of Canada Local 9, the union that represents mill workers at Prince George Pulp and Paper. Sixteen months ago, Canfor swung the axe that chopped about 130 unionized workers and 50 or 60 management staff out of the payroll at PG Pulp when the company permanently close the pulp line due to a lack of the raw material… The mill that opened in 1966 was shut down for the final time in April 2023. …LeBlanc says forest companies have cut the stands that are easily accessible and are now crying foul because those trees are not so close anymore when, he says, they should have been taking from near and far sources all those years to allow the industry to sustain itself.

Canfor announced it was reneging on the corporation’s commitment to rebuild sawmill operations in Houston, BC. Canfor also announced the indefinite closure of Polar Sawmill in Bear Lake, BC, was now permanent and closed a line at its Northwood Pulp operations in Prince George, BC. …Canfor cites “access to economically available fibre”… But reneging on the Houston rebuild—just eight months after Canfor promised workers in Houston, BC, a $200 million investment in “a new state-of-the-art manufacturing facility–it’s fair for workers to ask Canfor for some answers. …It’s the same old story: companies run flat out when prices are high and then invest south of the border when prices fall. …But in the short term, it’s time for the provincial government to invite Canfor into a room, along with labour, First Nations and the communities, and fix this. And if Canfor won’t do that, let’s find someone who will.

VICTORIA — The final week of the legislature’s session began with B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad targeting the NDP government over Canfor’s suspension of a $200-million reinvestment in a new mill in his northern B.C. riding. …The New Democrats blamed the suspension on market conditions. Rustad wasn’t having it. “As Canfor said very clearly, it’s because of government policy. We have millions of cubic metres of wood that is not being made available, that this government refuses to issue permits on.” …Premier David Eby insisted that the province had done what it could. “We worked closely with Canfor to make sure they had access to fibre for that new mill,” Eby told the house. “We’ve got a minister of state working exclusively on fibre supply, identifying those opportunities to get burned wood to market, to get marginal timber to pulp mills, scrap to pulp mills.”

Calls for the province to reinstate the Appurtenancy Clause are being made by the District of Houston and Houston District Chamber of Commerse. The clause was removed in 2003 and calls come following Canfor’s recent announcement to end re-investment into the Houston sawmill. “The ongoing shifts in forestry policies have placed considerable strain on our communities,” said Chamber Chair Amber Oevering. “It is crucial to reinstate the Appurtenancy Clause to protect communities like ours and enhance the sustainability of the local economy.” If the clause is reinstated, it would ensure timber is processed in a community near to where it was harvested. In a statement, Houston Mayor Shane Brienen said “We, along with other forestry-dependent communities, call on the Provincial government to address our concerns and implement necessary changes to the tenure system to keep logs local. A comprehensive plan needs to be developed to carry us through the mid-term.

Prince George Mayor Simon Yu knows the sickening gut punch that came with Canfor’s latest forest industry cutbacks that will have a direct hit on the region’s economy. …“My first reaction was I tried to imagine the suffering and stress on those poor workers and their families…. we knew there was a time when the fibre supply would be short, but we had no idea it would be this kind of magnitude. It’s difficult to swallow, as a town and a region that relies on forestry so heavily over decades.” Yu said the highest priority has to be given to establishing retraining programs for the affected workers to keep them from being forced to move. …Yu said it doesn’t help to point the finger at provincial governments and their forest management practices and says that that won’t provide any solutions to the people who are about to lose their jobs.