A pulp mill on Vancouver Island is permanently ending operations, the latest mill to close in the province, affecting around 350 employees.
Domtar said in a statement Tuesday that continued poor pricing for pulp and lack of access to affordable fibre in British Columbia necessitates the closure of its pulp mill in Crofton.
“These decisions are made with careful consideration and we recognize the hardship this decision will have on both our employees and the Cowichan Valley community as well as our business partners and the coastal forest sector,” the company's president of paper and packaging, Steve Henry, said in the statement.
“Our primary focus is on the safety and well-being of our employees as we navigate the coming weeks.”
Domtar said it is exploring "a variety of possibilities" for the future of the site.
B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar called the closure "gut-wrenching for workers" in a statement and said the forest sector is facing pressures from volatile markets, low pulp prices, shrinking fibre, climate-driven wildfires, conservation measures, and U.S. duties and tariffs.
Meanwhile, the Opposition Conservatives are calling for Parmar to resign, saying in a statement that the closure is a clear sign that B.C.’s coastal forest sector is collapsing.
Last month, West Fraser Timber announced that it would permanently close its lumber mill in 100 Mile House with about 165 jobs by the end of 2025.
Kim Haakstad, president of the BC Council of Forest Industries, said in a statement that consequences of inaction for the struggling forestry sector are happening in real time.
"We have been sounding the alarm that the situation in B.C. is dire and today is further evidence that the sector needs an urgent response from our government. While softwood lumber duties and trade uncertainty add significant pressure, not everything can be blamed on the dispute," Haakstad said.
"It is important to focus on the areas within our control, and those remain the core issues facing B.C. forestry: access to predictable, economic wood supply and the ability to operate in a competitive and efficient regulatory environment."
The industry group said the provincial government needs to improve efficiency and timeliness of cutting permits and road-building approvals and address operating costs at the harvest level and in manufacturing facilities.
It's also calling for more support for First Nations to expedite referrals, co-develop land use plans and increase revenue sharing.
Parmar said the latest closure was a painful, unfair moment and workers' lives are being disrupted through no fault of their own.
“This mill in Crofton has anchored Vancouver Island’s economy for generations. This loss will hit workers, contractors, truckers, loggers and local businesses hard right before the holidays," he said in his statement.
“We owe it to the people of Crofton to leave no stone unturned in the pursuit of exploring any opportunities to ensure that this site continues to produce good-paying forestry jobs for the people of Crofton and the broader region. We owe that much to the workers and their families.”
Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito
