Terrace Bay Pulp is now in a period of creditor protection through the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA).

Ernst & Young Inc. has been appointed as Monitor by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

The initial court order has provided a stay of proceedings until February 24, 2012. During the stay period, the company is unable to make payments on the supply of goods or services prior to January 25, 2012, unless specifically mentioned in the court order. All parties are prohibited from commencing or continuing legal action against Terrace Bay Pulp during the stay period.

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Tembec has posted a net loss of $16 million on sales of $401 million in its first quarter, ending on December 24, 2011.

For comparison, in the same quarter of 2010, the company reported a net loss of $11 million on sales of $422 million.

Tembec said its quarterly results were lower than anticipated due to relatively weak pulp markets that led to high-yield pulp production curtailments.

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Strenuous talks between Catalyst Paper and the Pulp, Paper and Woodworkers of Canada (PPWC) ended last night with a tentative 5-year agreement for one of the union locals at the Crofton pulp mill in British Columbia.

Catalyst Paper has a deadline of January 31 to put in place new contracts with its unionized workers in order for the company to continue forward with their debt restructuring plan.

Kevin McPetrie, first vice president of the PPWC Local 2, said, “You know, it was pretty tough going. We had a lot of tough discussions on a lot of pretty tricky issues. You know, on the condensed time frame, it was pretty stressful for both parties, I think, trying to reach an agreement.”

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I sympathise with White Birch Paper retirees. Let me tell you what I went through with the CCAA.

I worked for 39 years at the Thurso paper plant. I worked both the night shift and the day shift and this was detrimental to my health. Now that I have retired and should be able to derive some benefit from all those hours spent fighting off sleep, the Ontario Court of Justice has deprived me of that entitlement in the interest of a multinational company.

Background:

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EACOM Timber wants to rebuild its sawmill that was heavily damaged by fire on Monday night in Timmins, Ontario.

The fire was contained to the sawmill. The planer mill and kiln facilities, as well as round wood and lumber inventories, were not damaged.

EACOM plans to resume operations in the planer mill, and kiln next week to process existing rough lumber inventories. Woodlands operations have not been affected.

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The United Steelworkers (USW) announced today the launch of a fundraising campaign and the creation of a trust account to provide support to the workers of Babine Forest Products and their families in the wake of an explosion at the Burns Lake, B.C. sawmill.

“Since the tragedy at Babine Forest Products, we have been inundated with offers of support and assistance from other unions and union members all over the province and right across the country. The labour movement is a family, and union members join all British Columbians in mourning the loss of life and injuries to our brothers and sisters in Burns Lake,” says Steve Hunt, USW Director for Western Canada.

Already the labour movement has responded with a donation of $10,000 being made by CUPE BC.

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Kruger sent an internal memo to CBC in Newfoundland and Labrador this afternoon, seemingly by accident.

In the internal memo, the company mentions the production costs at their Corner Brook Pulp and Paper mill in Newfoundland and Labrador are well above the average in North America, and the mill would operate more efficiently with 135 less workers in the mill.

The memo mentions the labour costs per tonne at the mill are $40 more than North American average of $100 and its main competitor plans to reduce its to $80.

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The Canadian Auto Workers (CAW) and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union (CEP) are considering merging, and forming a new Canadian union.

For several weeks, these two large private-sector labour unions have been holding preliminary decisions on the topic. The two unions combined have about 330,000 members.

The proposed timeline to merge would be by the middle of next year.

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This morning’s closed door meeting between Kruger and the Union (CEP) representing the workers at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper has concluded.

No immediate job cuts were announced, however, Kruger plans to explore a “manning reorganization and rationalization” of the workforce in the first quarter of 2012.

Kruger is still working on the details and will meet with the unions again within the first quarter.

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The main sawmill building at EACOM Timber‘s McChesney sawmill in Timmins, Ontario has been lost in a fire.

Damage is estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Firefighters had difficulty tackling the fire due to the configuration of the building and its proximity to the river. The roof of the building was round and covered in tin. Aerial fire trucks were used to spray water thousands of litres down onto the building.

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