|
Tuesday, October 7, 2008 |
|
|
|
Temp:
|
9°C
|
|
Feels like:
|
7°C
|
|
Humidity:
|
66%
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
Mill uncertainty remains in Mackenzie, Fort St. James |
|
|
Written by GORDON HOEKSTRA
Citizen staff
|
|
Monday, 23 June 2008 |
Related Items
FIRST NATIONSBCSUPREME COURTCANFOR CORPRICK BERRY
Still on the table to be sold are pulp mills in Mackenzie and Nanaimo and a sawmill in Fort St. James.
The B.C. Supreme Court has extended the bankruptcy protection until July 7.
"I guess we'll have to wait until then," said United Steelworkers local 1-424 president Frank Everitt. "But we need a sale of the Fort St. James sawmill and the Mackenzie pulp mill to give people some hope, to get some fibre flowing that way," he said.
A key concern for Fort St. James, 160 kilometres northwest of Prince George, is to ensure that a sale goes to a company that intends to operate the mills. A coalition representing the District of Fort St. James and two First Nations have already said if the timber rights are sold separately -- the receiver has already indicated there are parties interested in that -- it would be a big blow to the community.
The Pope and Talbot sawmill, which employed about 280 people, was one of the biggest employers in the forest-based community of 2,400.
The mill has been down since mid-October. It was initially a victim of an unprecedented forestry downturn led by a collapse in the U.S. housing sector, and was shut down temporarily, but then also was caught in the Pope and Talbot's bankruptcy proceedings.
Fort St. James mayor Rob MacDougall said if the extra time until July 7 helps companies fine-tune their numbers, allowing for better bids, that's a positive. However, he said he's still concerned about bids that would only take the timber. "Not starting the sawmill is not an option," said MacDougall.
Still, the community is trying to move ahead in areas it has some control over.
It's already hired a pair of supervisors that will oversee projects that are being funded with $2 million that has been set aside by the province from a pool of $129 million in federal funding.
Some of the projects the community plans to tackle include reducing the wildfire risk, park upgrades, weed control and cutting historic trails. MacDougall said they are also working with First Nations.
The court extension also stipulates that Canfor Corp. cannot terminate its wood fibre agreement with the Pope and Talbot pulp mill in Mackenzie until July 7, when the court will revisit the issue. Although there are a number of bids for the pulp mill, the receiver, PricewaterhouseCoopers, has already said a condition of the offers is that the fibre agreement with Canfor continue.
Veteran Mackenzie pulp mill worker Rick Berry said the stress level in the community is going up with the delay. While Berry has been optimistic the pulp mill in Mackenzie will be sold, he doesn't believe the fibre issue should stand in the way of a sale.
Berry sees no reason that beetle-killed timber shouldn't be put up for sale for 25 cents a cubic metre -- the lowest price the province can charge for timber -- to feed the pulp mill.
He noted that if the timber is going to a pulp mill, it shouldn't run afoul of the softwood lumber agreement with the U.S.
The lost money in stumpage for the province would be gained in taxes, said Berry.
The former Pope and Talbot mill in Halsey, Ore. was bought by Wayzata Investment Partners, which also owns a stake in Tembec, which operates a pulp mill in Chetwynd in northern B.C.
 |
|
Last Updated ( Sunday, 07 September 2008 )
|
|
|
Who's Online
We have 108 guests and 10 members online
|
|
|
|
Subscribe to this comment's feed
