The closure of two mills, in Chetwynd and Houston, is not just a blow for local communities, but the sector as a whole.

John Rustad

The provincial government and Canfor both have a responsibility to the workers when the company closes its Houston sawmill, says John Rustad, Independent MLA for Nechako Lakes. Rustad … doesn’t question the need for a new mill …but says he thought Canfor would have kept the current mill working while the replacement was underway. …What needs to be in place is a program whereby Canfor tops up financial assistance provided by both the provincial and federal governments, Rustad said. Worker support is one of three items Rustad said he’ll be fighting for… Rustad’s third item concerns financial support for the District of Houston which will lose a major part of its property tax revenue when the mill closes down….“I don’t want to see any logs leaving the community. I think the province is going to have to have some very tough conversations with Canfor,” he continued.

Merlin Nichols

When I was Mayor of Chetwynd the crisis that has come home to roost was clearly seen in the ominous silences with which our efforts to avert the crisis were met in Victoria. …we predicted mill closures with devastating effects on the community if the policies the government of the day appeared to be taking were put into effect. …With the closure now announced, it will do us no good to point fingers and cast blame, though blame, if any, primarily rests with political authority. …The assurance by CANFOR’s CEO that the closure was not based on a shortage of fiber, but rather on the difficulty of obtaining permits to harvest, should be the starting point. And from there we go on to chart a workable solution. …Finally, Victoria must play a key role in the negotiations, and without delay, if this operation and this community is to be salvaged. 

Doug Routley

As the Parliamentary Secretary for Forests and MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan, I’m committed to making sure people have strong communities to call home, with good-paying jobs and public services that families can count on. As someone who has worked in forestry, I know personally how vital the sector is for our province. …Last week, we introduced the BC Manufacturing Jobs Fund, which is part of our plan to create more good-paying jobs, build stronger, more resilient forestry communities and create new economic opportunities through innovative, value-added manufacturing. The provincial government is investing $90 million dollars to drive clean growth in rural, remote and Indigenous communities by supporting industrial and manufacturing projects. …The fund also builds on the $185 million we announced in 2022 to support forestry workers, industry, communities and First Nations that may be affected by deferrals of old-growth logging.

PORT ALICE, BC — North Vancouver Island’s Port Alice was founded as a municipality because of its pulp mill. The mill was owned and operated in the early days by Whalen Pulp and Paper Mills of Vancouver — a family business endeavour by the brothers Whalen. Construction began on the mill in 1917 and it produced its first pulp just one year later in 1918. …The mill had a full life up until it was closed permanently in 2015, with 97 years of operation under its belt. Five years after its closure, residents were shocked to find out that Neucel Specialty Cellulose — the latest owner of the mill who’d purchased the operation in 2005 — successfully filed for bankruptcy. When Neucel bought the mill, it had already been in a state of bankruptcy a year prior to their purchase of the operation.

Mike Bernier

Canfor is closing another set of mills in northern B.C., this time in Chetwynd and Houston. …Peace River South MLA Mike Bernier called the news “devastating.” “Anytime you have an announcement like this it’s heartbreaking for the families that are affected,” said Bernier, also the Opposition critic for forestry. “For a community like Chetwynd, this is a huge loss to the community.” …Bernier says Canfor still has a business case to operate the Houston mill, which he says was designed and built to deal with the pine beetle epidemic. But companies across the province, including in the Peace region, are struggling to secure long-term tenures for fibre supply, he said. He blamed the provincial government for being reactionary in its response to the mounting pressures in B.C’s forestry sector, despite what he says is still an abundance of supply in the province.

Additional coverage in Alaska Highway News, by Mike Bernier: NDP lack leadership needed for B.C. forestry

Bruce Ralston

B.C. Forests Minister Bruce Ralston is defending his government’s plan to allocate 10 per cent of BC Timber Sales fibre available for auction to the value-added forestry sector. Ralston’s plan and how it relates to secondary wood manufacturers was criticized by Prince George businessman John Brink, who said the new program won’t be enough to attract new investment and prevent some value-added companies from going out of business. “We take exception to the comments,” said Ralston, “The 10% dedicated fibre supply for the new program is just a starting point. Government is committed to ensuring additional volume for BC Timber Sales. …Ralston announced the province intends to set aside 600,000 cubic-metres of Crown land timber. …Brink said B.C. companies in the secondary forest industry should have access to six million cubic metres.