Tag Archives: Newfoundland

Newfoundland and Labrador‘s Minister of Natural Resources, Jerome Kennedy, is confirming that a company is interested in purchasing the old AbitibiBowater mill in Grand Falls-Windsor.

Kennedy would not specify who the company was, or where they were from, but he did say that the company is interested in acquiring part of the property to produce wood pellets for home heating.

The Grand Falls-Windsor mill has been closed for 3 years. The province assumed custody and management of the mill after expropriating the timber and water assets from AbitibiBowater.

This is not the first time a company has been interested in the mill. In 2010, Lott Paper from Germany was interested in the mill, but the plan fell apart when Lott Paper declared bankruptcy just days later.

The environmental cleanup of the site has yet to be carried out. The cleanup is estimated to cost more than $100 million. The Supreme Court of Canada will be deciding if the provincial government will be responsible for paying for the cleanup, or if AbitibiBowater will be on the hook for the costs.

Premier Kathy Dunderdale has said a future operator of the mill shouldn’t have to pay for the environmental cleanup. She told the legislature that “the business case, what we are trying to do is encourage another use for that facility in Grand Falls, something hopefully to do with the forestry industry. We are going to make that as attractive as we can based on a cost-benefit analysis to the people, particularly of the central part of the province. At the end of the day we are left with the responsibility, unless the Supreme Court of Canada rules something different, and the site will be cleaned up eventually.”

Source:
Company eyeing former mill site in Grand Falls-Windsor (CBC)

More than 50 unionized Kruger’s Corner Brook Pulp and Paper workers had a quiet demonstration at the gates of the mill at shift change this morning in Newfoundland.

The workers are drawing attention to the number of contractors Kruger is employing after laying off several dozen unionized workers.

While the main gate was the site of the demonstration, some workers also gathered at the east gate that is most often used by contractors. The workers didn’t disrupt the traffic flow.

The demonstration, which started at 6:30am was over before the end of the shift change at 8am.

Source:
Mill workers protest use of contractors

Next week the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Union Pensioners Committee will be meeting with retired employees from Kruger’s Corner Brook Pulp and Paper mill to discuss proposed changes to their pension plans.

The proposed changes are not yet known publicly. Spokesperson Gerald Parsons said there are roughly 500 pensioners from Corner Brook Pulp and Paper and its predecessor, Bowater, who will be affected by the changes parent company Kruger Inc. is proposing.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has granted Kruger the right to seek the permission of pensioners to change the funding of their pensions.

Understandably, there is a lot of concern over what these changes may be. Many retirees plan the year of their retirement based on their expected annual income during their retirement.

The sessions with the pensioners are scheduled for next Monday and Tuesday at 10am and 2pm at the Elks Lodge in Corner Brook.

Source:
Committee to meet with mill retirees (The Western Star)

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is working towards a new provincial sustainable forest management strategy.

The next strategy will be for a 10 year term, and will replace the previous one released in 2003.

“Newfoundland and Labrador is blessed with forest resources which have been a source of employment and raw materials throughout our history,” said the Honourable Jerome Kennedy, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency. “The development of a Provincial Sustainable Forest Management Strategy will ensure the development of the province’s valuable forest resources is undertaken with Newfoundlanders and Labradorians as the primary beneficiaries.”

Last night a public consultation session was held in St. John’s where several parties discussed how a balanced approach to forest management is required.

Nature Newfoundland and Labrador president John Jacobs said there are two sides to forests. On one end forests protect biodiversity, yet they are also an important part of the province’s renewable resource-based economy, particularly in rural regions.

Ian Goudie of the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society said governments for too long have believed clear cutting mimics natural events such as insect infestations and forest fires. Goudie recommended the government create an independent science-based panel to advise the province on the sustainable management of forests.

John Baird of the Newfoundland and Labrador Lumber Producers Association said the forestry sector has been negatively affected by the rise of the Internet and the move by many people to a paperless existence.

Wayne Holloway spoke last night about the decline in caribou herds. Holloway operates three hunting and fishing lodges in the Terra Nova region and said he attributes a decline in the caribou herd to forest management practices.

Further public consultations are scheduled next week in Corner Brook (March 20) and Happy Valley-Goose Bay (March 22).

Source:
Balanced approach necessary (The Telegram)

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.

Read more:
Corner Brook mill softens planned cuts
Breaking: No Immediate Cuts at Corner Brook Mill (VOCM)

Job cuts of up to 90 positions are coming this week to Kruger‘s Corner Brook Pulp and Paper in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Western Star has heard from sources indicating the job cuts will be across the board – affecting management positions, unionized mill positions, and positions in the woodland operations. Some of the job cuts will occur through attrition.

Newfoundland and Labrador’s Finance Minister Tom Marshall said he was told of the job cuts on Friday. Marshall said the mill’s survival will have to involve co-operation. “Involving the workers, involving the government, involving the company— they are going have to all take steps together to make this a low-cost mill and one that can survive and make a profit in the future.”

The Western Star is reporting that the unions have not yet been officially notified of the job cuts, but that notification will occur on Tuesday.

Five years ago the mill was operating four paper machines. One machine was shut down indefinitely in November 2007, and another in October 2009. The mill is currently operating the remaining two paper machines and employs 500 people.

Unionized workers in the mill are already waiting to be repaid a 10% deferral in wages they agreed to in 2010. The agreement was that the deferred wages would be paid back when the paper mill returned to profitability.

Read more:
Big job losses at mill: sources (The Western Star)
Co-operation between government, Kruger and union key to Corner Brook Pulp and Paper’s future: finance minister (The Telegram)

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is providing $4.3 million dollars to help the 450 workers at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper upgrade their skills.

The hope is the training will improve the mill’s competitiveness in the global market.

“We are grateful to the provincial government for supporting our efforts to invest in employee training,” said Stéphane Rousseau, vice president and general manager, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limited. “Not only will it have a positive impact on our competitiveness, but our employees will benefit from expanding their long-term employability.”

The training will cover approximately 450 employees across all departments and job categories over 3 years. The training will cover technological knowledge, mechanical skills, information technology training, as well as management skills.

“Corner Brook Pulp and Paper is one of the most recognizable and long-standing employers on the west coast of the province,” Darin King, Minister of Human Resources, Labour and Employment said today in Corner Brook. “The provincial government is proud to support the company’s efforts to better align its workforce to meet the ever-changing global marketplace. This project will also ensure long-term sustainability of jobs in the Corner Brook region.”

Read more:
N.L. paper mill gets $4.3 million from province to upgrade worker’s skills (The Canadian Press)
Funding to provide enhanced training to mill employees (The Telegram)
Global Markets Putting the Squeeze on Paper Mill (VOCM)

Newfoundland and Labrador have been stockpiling a massive amount of used tires simply because they have no method of disposing of them.

Kruger, in Corner Brook, has looked into chipping the used tires and adding them to the bark and sawdust they burn to create steam for energy.

The plan was dropped due to significant public backlash.

Now the province has found a way to reduce its stockpile of used tires. Two companies in Quebec, Holcim (Canada) Inc. and Lafarge Canada Inc. have been burning tires in kilns for energy, and have agreed to take the tires from Newfoundland.

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador will soon be putting out tenders for someone to transport the roughly 2 million tires from the Placentia area to Quebec.

Read more:
Quebec cement companies to burn used tire stockpile from N.L. as fuel (The Canadian Press)
Placentia tires hit the road to Quebec (The Independent)
N.L. to ship old tires to Quebec (CBC)

Residents of central Newfoundland want firewood gathering restrictions eased on AbitibiBowater‘s former woodlands.

Currently, firewood gathering is restricted to personal use only, and a permit is required that indicates what type of trees are allowed to cut.

Several woodcutters are planning to meet in Bishop’s Falls this week to see if they can find a way to change the regulations.

Opinion in Newfoundland seems to be mixed. Some think the current regulations are fine, and that they help protect the woodlands. Other people are skeptical of the desire for change and think some people are looking to harvest free firewood for additional income.

Source:
Residents oppose firewood restrictions (CBC)

Kruger‘s Corner Brook Pulp and Paper has dropped the idea of burning used tires for fuel.

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador has nearly two million used tires. Five years ago, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper proposed an idea of shredding the tires into one inch chips that could be used as an energy source. Bark is already flowing into the mill’s steam room. The tire chips could be added to the stream of bark at a rate of half a tonne per hour (compared to nearly 30 tonnes per hour of bark and sawdust).

The proposal was dropped in 2005, but came back to life this past fall. Corner Brook Pulp and Paper said that with some investment, they believed they could burn the tires while still adhering to best environmental practice, including adherence to permitted emission levels. A trial burn was proposed, as well as an environmental assessment.

Every time the idea of burning tires is vocalized, there have been negative reactions and community protests. People were worried about the potential risk associated with burning tires.

Today Corner Brook Pulp and Paper announced they had withdrew their tire-burning proposal, saying there was a “lack of consensus over the project.”

Read more:
Tire burning proposal withdrawn by Corner Brook Pulp and Paper (The Western Star)
Pulp mill backs away from controversial plan to burn tires in Newfoundland (The Canadian Press)
Environmental Assessment Bulletin (Newfoundland and Labrador Environment and Conservation Department)