Canfor blames BC government as it announces closure of sawmill

Canfor has announced it is permanently closing its Polar sawmill in Bear Lake, BC, shutting a production line at its Northwood Pulp Mill in Prince George, and suspending its "planned reinvestment" in Houston, BC.

The company says in separate news releases that the closures will impact 400 jobs, 180 at its Polar mill and 220 at the Northwood facility.

The company says a shortage of fibre is the reason behind the indefinite curtailment of one production line at the Northwood pulp mill, while Canfor president Don Kayne says timber is critical for its sawmill, but the harvest level has "declined dramatically."

He says the decline is partly due to natural disturbances, like beetle infestations and wildfires, but also to policy and regulation changes that have "hampered" Canfor’s ability to access enough fibre to support its facilities, forcing the closures.

Canfor announced last September that it was planning to spend $200 million on a state−of−the−art mill in Houston, west of Prince George, shortly after it had announced the closure of its sawmills in Houston and Chetwynd.

The Polar sawmill, about 70 kilometres north of Prince George, had an annual production capacity of about 300 million board feet, but has been shut since January.

Kayne says in a news release that the company’s ability to reliably access enough timber to run the facilities is critical for the business.

"Unfortunately, while our province has a sufficient supply of timber available for harvest as confirmed by the allowable annual cut set by BC’s chief forester, the actual harvest level has declined dramatically in recent years.

"In 2023 the actual harvest was 42 per cent lower than the allowable cut, a level not seen since the 1960s," Kayne says.

Canfor Pulp, a subsidiary company, says it currently operates two pulp production lines out of its Northwood facility, which will continue to operate for the next few weeks, followed by an "orderly wind−down process" of one line.

Minister of Forests Bruce Ralston says the Province is "disappointed" by Canfor's decisions, stressing that their impacts "will be felt by families and communities in northern British Columbia."

He adds: "Workers shouldn't bear the brunt of commodity cycles as they have been forced to for years. That's why our government has been focused on stabilizing the sector."

Leader of the Opposition Kevin Falcon, meanwhile, says the news is "profoundly devastating."

In a joint statement with Mike Bernier, shadow minister for forests, he adds: “We stand with nearly 700 workers, their families, and their communities who have received this deeply upsetting news and now face an uncertain future.

"Last year, the NDP touted Canfor’s planned reinvestment in a new state-of the art sawmill in Houston as ‘an important step forward’ but it is clear David Eby’s policies have failed to match his government’s words as we now see that new mill project cancelled.

"These closures should serve as a chilling signal of a broader trend, with forestry investment being forced out of British Columbia."

– With files from Canadian Press