Tag Archives: Newfoundland

The Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources has issued an additional call for Expressions of Interest to develop the Central Newfoundland timber resource, a process that began with the closure of AbitibiBowater in 2009.

“A significant portion of the forest resource in central Newfoundland is open to development by the right proponent,” said the Honourable Tom Marshall, Minister of Natural Resources and Minister Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency. “Since 2009 interested parties have come forward, however we have yet to find the initiative that is the best fit for industry, government and central Newfoundland.”

The EOI process will determine the level of interest that exists for sustainable opportunities focused on new timber processing facilities.

The department allocated a portion of the former AbitibiBowater timber in central Newfoundland to two integrated sawmills that traditionally rely on saw logs from Abitibi in order to maintain lumber production levels. Crown operators who traditionally had access to Abitibi fibre and logging contractors who were dependent on Abitibi for fibre were given allocations at their historic levels.

The unallocated wood supply that is available for industry development is 280,000m3/year. This wood is identified in the 25-year harvest schedule developed as part of the most recent provincial wood supply analysis. Road access has been established to many, but not all of these areas.

“Recently, a number of reputable forest products and energy companies have contacted the department and expressed interest in the resource,” said Minister Marshall. “Inquiries have focused on the availability of fibre and mill infrastructure to support such ideas as wood pellet plants, ethanol plants and raw pulp for export. To ensure the process is fair, it is important that we have an additional open call for those interested in submitting a proposal.”

Expressions of Interest will be accepted until 4:30 p.m. on March 28, 2013 and must be submitted in accordance with set terms and conditions. The Department of Natural Resources does not bind itself to any Expressions of Interest that may be submitted.

The terms and conditions are available on the Department of Natural Resources website at http://www.nr.gov.nl.ca/nr/

Premier Kathy Dunderdale of Newfoundland and Labrador, has appointed Thomas W. Marshall, Member for Humber East, as Minister of Natural Resources and Minister Responsible for the Forestry and Agrifoods Agency.

Marshall will also continue as Attorney General.

Tom Marshall is the son of the late Sylvia Marshall and the late Jack Marshall, former Senator and former Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament for Humber – St. George’s – St. Barbe.

Marshall grew up in Corner Brook before attending Memorial University, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Commerce degree in 1969, and Dalhousie University in Halifax, where he was awarded a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1972. After graduation, he returned to Corner Brook and joined the law firm of Barry, Wells and Monaghan as an associate lawyer, articling with Kevin Barry, Q.C., and became a partner in the firm of Barry, Wells, Monaghan, Seaborn and Marshall in 1975. He remained senior partner with the firm of Monaghan, Marshall, Murphy and Watton until his election and subsequent appointment to Cabinet in 2003 (Minister of Justice and Attorney General). In 1986, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel.

Marshall was appointed Minister Responsible for Intergovernmental Affairs on March 11, 2005.

On December 29, 2006, Marshall was appointed Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

Marshall was appointed Minister of Justice and Attorney General on October 31, 2008.

On October 7, 2009, Marshall was appointed as Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board, and on October 26, 2009, was appointed Acting Minister of Transportation and Works and Acting Minister Responsible for the Newfoundland Labrador Housing Corporation.

Marshall was re-elected to the House of Assembly on October 11, 2011.

On October 19, 2012, Marshall was appointed Attorney General, in addition to his existing responsibilities as Minister of Finance and President of Treasury Board.

Source: Government of Newfoundland and Labrador

Kruger workers who were laid off over the Christmas holidays in Corner Brook, Newfoundland returned to work today.

One of the paper machines was shut down on December 23.  The 15 day shutdown reduced Corner Brook Pulp & Paper’s newsprint output by 4,000 metric tonnes.

110 employees were affected by the downtime.

Read more:
Kruger mill employees return to work (CBC)

Tomorrow the Supreme Court of Canada will rule on who is responsible for the environmental clean-up of the former paper mill in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland and Labrador.

Will the “polluter pays” laws result in Resolute Forest Products (formerly AbitibiBowater) being assigned responsibility?

Or will the province of Newfoundland and Labrador be on the hook because they expropriated the assets of the mill after the company announced the closure in March 2009.

Read more:
Supreme Court to rule in AbitibiBowater case (CBC)

The story behind the company vying for government money to open a wood pellet plant in AbitibiBowater’s old mill in Grand Falls-Windsor, Newfoundland is far from clear, but in the end it doesn’t matter – the provincial government has ended negotiations.

The CBC has looked into York Energy, the company that has been identified as the party interested in starting the pellet mill, and discovered a lot of mysteries.

The company claims to produce 120,000 metric tonnes of pellets at a plant in New Brunswick, but according to the CBC, no one seems to have heard of the company there, or their pellet operation.

Matthew Fox, of York Energy, told the CBC  the company was planning on investing $36 million in the old paper mill in Grand Falls-Windsor.

Fox said the province has abruptly cancelled negotiations and has killed the deal.

Read the story:
Pellet plan shot down for former Abitibi mill (CBC)

More coverage:
Talks With Company on Paper Mill End (VOCM)

The security guard at the former AbitibiBowater pulp and paper mill in Grand Falls-Windsor in Newfoundland feels it is time something is done with the old building.

The mill was a cornerstone of the community for over a century, but since the mill shut down in 2009, it has been left mostly abandoned.

The building is so hazardous now that no one is allowed in without a permit and anyone who does go in must be in contact with security staff with a radio and wearing a mask or respirator is recommended.

Water is said to be everywhere. Ceiling tiles, possibly containing asbestos, are falling off, and there is mold growing everywhere.

Security guard Kevin Whiffen said there isn’t enough water in most parts of the structure to be considered flooding, and that you can still walk around in just work boots. He said the only part of the mill he knows of where there has been flooding is in the wood room.

“There’s a basement there that’s about 15 feet deep, and we’re pumping that out all the time to keep the water down,” he said. “Over the winter now when it freezes over it’ll fill up a little bit…we might get three to four feet of water down there.”

Whiffen and the other security staff are employed by the provincial Department of Transportation and Works.  The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador assumed control of the property when it was expropriated.

The Supreme Court of Canada has yet to rule on whether the cleanup of the site will fall to AbitibiBowater (now Resolute Forest Products), or to the province.

Read more:
Deteriorating (Advertiser)
Old paper mill a hazard (CBC)

Grand Falls – Windsor mill, 2009

Kruger Inc. has announced that the active and retired unionized employees of Corner Brook Pulp and Paper have approved the proposal to apply funding relief measures to their pension plan’s deficit.

These relief measures were essential to the Mill’s ability to compete in the market and will enable the Company to pursue its assessment of the Mill’s long-term viability. The next step will be for the company to present a sustainability plan to its lenders and to the NL government within the coming weeks.

According to the final report issued by independent auditor Brian N. Hillier, the number of objections was the following for each group of members:

Active members (321): 19 objections (5.9%)
Retired members (645): 7 objections (1.1%)

Source: Kruger Inc.

Kruger Inc. has announced that the woodland operations at its Corner Brook mill in Newfoundland and Labrador has  achieved certification under the Forest Stewardship Council® (FSC®) National Boreal Standard.

Issued by QMI-SAI Canada Limited, an FSC-accredited organization, the certificate recognizes that all woodland operations comply with FSC requirements, including management planning, road construction and maintenance, harvesting operations, fibre transportation, silviculture and support activities.

“Achieving FSC National Boreal Standard certification is part of our long-standing commitment to environmental protection and the result of our employees’ dedication to managing and using resources responsibly,” said Pat Tompkins, Woodlands Manager, Corner Brook Pulp and Paper Limited.

FSC standards are among the strictest and most recognized in the global forest industry. Kruger’s Corner Brook Mill obtained this certification after a rigorous auditing process, building on its existing certifications to the ISO Environmental Management and CSA Sustainable Forest Management Standards. The new certificate (license code QMI-FM/COC-001506) covers forest management districts nos. 5, 6, 9, 14, 15 and 16.

In recent years, Kruger Inc. has achieved several FSC certifications, including FSC Chain of Custody (CoC) certification for its Québec paper mills and sawmills (license code FSC-C103971) and for the five Kruger Products tissue mills (license code FSC-C104904), as well as FSC certification for its forest management practices in Québec (license code SW-FM/COC-004672).

Source: Kruger

The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is indicating they are willing to support the Corner Brook Pulp and Paper mill – if all 6 union locals approve new collective agreements, and the mill’s pension plan issues are cleared up.

As it stands right now, 4 of the 6 locals have voted in favour of a new contract with mill owner Kruger.  The 2 skilled trades unions have not yet agreed on a new contract with the employer.

The workers will be voting on the proposal to allow Kruger to have 10 years instead of 5 years to pay back the deficit to their pension plans before August 22.

If those issues are resolved, the province is willing to help, but no details will be released until after August 22.

Both Kruger, and the workers at the mill, have indicated there is a need for infrastructure updates.  Kruger had an excellent track record of investing in the mill, but in recent years, the company’s restricted cash flow has prevented it from making improvements and upgrades.

Premier Kathy Dunderdale has confirmed that the province’s support will not come in the form of an operating subsidy.

Read more:
Government may help with mill upgrades (The Western Star)
N.L. premier says support coming for paper mill if deal is reached (The Canadian Press)

Bruce Randall, President of CEP’s Local 242 in Corner Brook said national president Dave Coles’ comments yesterday were unwanted and may actually harm the sensitive process mill workers are going through this week.

Yesterday Coles urged the workers to accept Kruger’s contract offer when they vote this week.

Randall said he would rather leave that decision to the workers.  He also said he has been trying to talk to Coles for the last 4 months but Coles has not been in communication with him.

“Dave Coles has no credibility anymore — none,” Randell said. “All he’s doing is hurting our cause. We are trying to get a collective agreement here in Corner Brook that people can live with. That is the ultimate goal. We don’t need the criticism. Hopefully, he hasn’t hurt our objective of getting a tentative deal. I say, ‘hopefully,’ because my members are tired of the rhetoric.”

The CEP has encouraged workers at other mills to accept concessions, setting a pattern of collective agreements that Randell said Corner Brook Pulp and Paper’s employees are now expected to go along with without question. Every mill has it’s own factors to consider and Randell said Coles is out of touch when it comes to the situation in Corner Brook.

“If he wants to question my leadership, why doesn’t he pick up the phone and phone me?” asked Randell. “Or, better still, why doesn’t he get on a plane and fly down here and meet face-to-face with the local leadership that he questions, and have a better understanding of what’s going on … Did I get a phone call from Dave Coles? No. Do I need to talk to Dave Coles about certain issues? Yes. And I asked four months ago to get a hold of him.”

The Local Executive are hoping for a deal, but they are not telling their members to rubber stamp the offer in front of them this week.

Workers will be able to pick up their copy of the offer tomorrow.  Meetings and voting will occur on Thursday.

All of the union locals at the mill will vote before Friday.

Sources:
Pressing discussions; Head of Local 242 says CEP national president doing more harm than good (The Western Star)
N.L. mill union leader rebukes national president for urging OK of deal (Cape Breton Post)