Frank PEEBLES Citizen staff
A Regional District of Fraser Fort George director is urging the Sinclar Group, owner of Lakeland Mills, to reopen a dormant sawmill at Bear Lake to replace the Prince George mill destroyed last week in a deadly explosion and fire.
"Sinclar still owns the old Winton Global site, it used to be The Pas Lumber mill, at Bear Lake. It's been shut down for years," explained Terry Burgess, the elected regional district director for the Bear Lake neighbourhood (Area G Crooked River-Parsnip).
"Why don't they restart that mill for the Lakeland wood? They could still do the planing at the Lakeland planer downtown, it wasn't burned in the fire, and they could get those people back to work."
Sinclar's president Greg Stewart responded that there are some incompatibilities between the Bear Lake mill, which has been dormant since 2008, and the Lakeland sawmill.
"Lakeland and Winton Global Lumber produce two different products for different markets," Stewart said.
"There are no plans to start the Winton mill until we have done a full review of our operations. However, going forward, all
options will be considered."
