Canadian Forestindustries News

Tembec today planted the 300th million tree in the Gordon Cosens Forest located near Kapuskasing, Ontario.

Planting on the Gordon Cosens Forest has been going on for more than 70 years and is still going strong; 4.5 million trees will be planted this spring.

Attending the event with other Tembec executives and employees, regional dignitaries as well as municipal representatives, President and Chief Executive Officer, James Lopez, recognized that “very few forests in Canada can lay claim to having planted 300 million trees. This is a truly significant achievement – one which deserves to be celebrated.” “We are very fortunate to have a long history of sustainable forestry going back many decades and involving some of the pioneers of sustainable forestry in Canada. The Gordon Cosens was one of the first forests in Canada to achieve FSC certification. I would like to thank our employees, our suppliers that grow the seedlings and plant the trees for Tembec and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources for their support in renewing this forest,” Lopez added.

During the ceremony, Lopez solemnly stated: “This important milestone is dedicated to two local foresters, Dan Simis and Chad McQuade, who were tragically taken from us on November 2, 2011, while carrying out reforestation work. Ensuring a forest for future generations was their passion. Their legacy will be everlasting.”

The Gordon Cosens Forest, which borders the Missinaibi River and is situated near Kapuskasing, lies in the heart of Ontario’s Claybelt region of the Boreal Forest. Characterized by expansive black spruce and mixed wood forests and home to a variety of boreal-forest dwelling animals, including moose and caribou, the Gordon Cosens Forest is managed by Tembec according to the high standards of the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).

Tembec just planted its 300th million tree in the Gordon Cosens Forest is a post from: ForestTalk.com

99.5% of Catalyst Paper‘s secured creditors voted in favour of the company’s restructuring plan.  Only 64% of the unsecured creditors voted in favour.

Approval of not less than 66 2/3% of the principal amount of each creditor class voting on the plan was required for Catalyst Paper to proceed.

Since the amended plan of arrangement was not approved at the meetings, Catalyst Paper is required to commence a sale transaction in accordance with certain court-approved sale and investor solicitation procedures (SISP) as described in the Management Proxy Circular delivered to Catalyst Paper’s creditors in advance of the meetings.

“Today’s creditors’ vote makes it clear for stakeholders that our path to emerge from protection will be through a sales process initiated by a stalking horse bid from secured noteholders. Our objective remains unchanged and that’s to put our company on better financial footing to enable us to compete vigorously and to adapt as necessary to the continuing changes in the markets for our products,” said President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin J. Clarke. “Stakeholders can be assured that as milestones in the sales process are met, issues resolved and decisions reached, we will continue to provide timely updates on developments and progress.”

The company’s debtor-in possession (DIP) financing continues to be available to the company and, combined with the company’s operating revenue, is expected to continue to provide sufficient liquidity to meet ongoing obligations to employees and suppliers and ensure that normal operations continue during the sale process.

The SISP outlines the procedures and timelines for soliciting bids to purchase all or substantially all of the assets of Catalyst Paper or to make an investment in the business and operations of Catalyst Paper. The SISP also contemplates that Catalyst Paper will enter into a stalking horse purchase agreement (the Stalking Horse Purchase Agreement) with holders of Catalyst Paper’s First Lien Notes for the purchase of all or substantially all of the company’s assets on a going concern basis. In the event that Catalyst Paper does not receive or accept a qualified bid, pursuant to the SISP the company must terminate the SISP and within three business days of such termination, must file an application with the court seeking approval of  a sale transaction under the Stalking Horse Purchase Agreement, which agreement has been finalized and approved by the court.

The SISP will be implemented as follows:

(a) an initial offering summary and confidentiality agreement will be distributed to known potential bidders within two days; (b) potential bidders will submit certain information and an executed confidentiality agreement within 14 days (the Potential Bidder Deadline); (c) the determination of which potential bidders are qualified bidders will occur within five days after such bidders have delivered their materials; (d) qualified bidders will submit a non-binding indication of interest within 35 days following the Potential Bidder Deadline (the Phase 1 Bid Deadline); (e) the non-binding indication of interest will be assessed within five days of the Phase 1 Bid Deadline; (f) provided the non-binding indication of interest has been determined to likely be consummated, the bidder will submit a purchase bid or investment bid no later than 21 days from the Phase 1 Bid Deadline (the Phase 2 Bid Deadline); (g) the purchase bid or investment bid will be assessed within the 5 days following the Phase 2 Bid Deadline; and (h) in the event that there is more than one acceptable purchase bid or investment bid, an auction will be conducted within three days of the Phase 2 Bid Deadline.

Read more:

Details of the voting results including votes on a class-by-class basis are available at www.catalystpaper.com/restructuring.

Additional information concerning the restructuring is contained on the Monitor’s website, which is available at http://www.pwc.com/ca/en/car/catalyst-paper-corporation/index.jhtml.

Catalyst Paper’s creditors did NOT approve restructuring plan is a post from: ForestTalk.com

At AbitibiBowater‘s annual general meeting today, stockholders have approved renaming the company to “Resolute Forest Products” effective tomorrow – May 24, 2012.

As part of this change, stockholders also agreed to change the company’s common stock ticker symbol from ABH to RFP on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange, also effective May 24, 2012.

Any impact this legal entity name transition may have for Resolute’s customers and business partners will be communicated directly to these parties over the coming days.

Also at the meeting today, 8 directors were elected for 2012:

• Richard B. Evans
• Richard D. Falconer
• Richard Garneau
• Jeffrey A. Hearn
• Bradley P. Martin
• Alain Rhéaume
• Michael S. Rousseau
• David H. Wilkins

Today the stockholders have also ratified the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as the company’s independent registered public accounting firm for the 2012 fiscal year.

Source: Resolute Forest Products

Resolute Forest Products is AbitibiBowater’s new official name is a post from: ForestTalk.com

The meeting of Catalyst Paper‘s secured and unsecured creditors is being held this morning in Vancouver.

The creditors will be discussing Catalyst Paper’s proposed Plan of Arrangement under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act.

The Times Colonist is discussing British Columbia’s apparent lack of financial commitment to Catalyst Paper. The B.C. Liberal government appears supportive and encouraging, but Catalyst Paper has not received any firm provincial commitments to help Catalyst out of creditor protection.

1,700 direct jobs are on the line at Catalyst Paper’s Port Alberni, Crofton, and Powell River mills.

Catalyst Paper’s CEO Kevin Clarke wrote an anxious letter to Premier Christy Clark this month complaining about the lack of any substantial action in protecting the mill jobs.

Other parties have made concessions for Catalyst Paper. The company’s unionized workers have voted for a 5-year contract that cuts labour costs. North Cowichan council has also eased Catalyst Paper’s tax bill by shifting some of the tax bill to homeowners. The federal government released some HST refunds that were frozen during an audit to give Catalyst Paper operating cash.

Clarke would like the province of British Columbia to support his company in the same manner that Quebec and Nova Scotia have supported their pulp and paper companies that are in creditor protection with hundreds of millions of dollars.

What do you think? Should British Columbia do more to secure the future for Catalyst Paper?

Read more:
Catalyst worried about cabinet support (Times Colonist)

Catalyst Paper creditors meeting today is a post from: ForestTalk.com

Two skulls were uncovered last week by Tembec workers who were excavating on Tembec’s property in Temiscaming, Quebec.

Excavation was stopped and the skulls have been sent to a lab in Montreal for investigation.

Until Tembec knows the history behind the skulls, workers will not be permitted back into the area.

Tembec started operations on the property in 1917. Before that time a church and cemetery were on the property. The church building and cemetery were moved around 1916.

Tembec is working with the Ministry of Culture in Quebec, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Pembroke and area museums to learn more.

Source:
Skulls found at Tembec plant (North Bay Nugget)

Skulls found at Tembec in Temiscaming is a post from: ForestTalk.com

Conifex Timber is reporting a net loss of $6.5 million in its first quarter of 2012. In comparison, the company posted a net loss of $7.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, and a net loss of $3.6 million in the first quarter of 2011.

Lumber segment EBITDA was negative $2.7 million for the first quarter of 2012 compared to negative $4.1 million for the previous quarter and negative $0.3 million for the first quarter of 2011. Current quarter lumber segment results include those of our newly acquired marketing and transportation and logistics subsidiaries. These businesses made a modest positive contribution to lumber segment EBITDA during the quarter that was in line with management expectations. The improvement of $1.4 million lumber segment EBITDA over the previous quarter was generally attributable to an increase in unit mill net realization, increased profit from lumber derivatives and lower unit cash conversion and marketing and administrative costs due partly to a higher operating rate. Compared to the first quarter of 2011, current quarter improvements in unit cash conversion and SG&A expenses were partially offset by increased log costs, change in inventory valuation adjustment, and a decline in mill net realizations.

The 12% improvement in average benchmark lumber prices during the current quarter over the fourth quarter of 2011 was partially offset by a 2% strengthening of the Canadian dollar over the U.S. dollar. Low grade prices remained at unusually wide discounts to the #2 and Better prices during most of the quarter before showing a marked improvement over the closing weeks. Unit mill net realizations were hampered during the first quarter of 2012 as the Company worked off an abnormally high proportion of low grade inventory and lower priced export order files and built up inventory of premium grade products ahead of strong second quarter order files.

Lumber segment revenue totalled $47.4 million during the first quarter of 2012, an increase of 22% over the previous quarter and 124% over the first quarter of 2011. Shipment of Conifex produced lumber totalled 115 million board feet, a 7% decline from the previous quarter. The company continued to ship heavily to export markets, particularly China, during the first quarter of 2012 with approximately 62% of total shipment volumes going to these markets compared to 53% in the previous quarter and 44% in the first quarter of 2011.

Operating rates were 60% for the first quarter of 2012, during which the company produced 111 million board feet of lumber, compared to 51% for the previous quarter and 34% for the first quarter of 2011. Production efficiencies during the current quarter were challenged by the recent conversion of the Fort St. James mill from a three-line to two-line configuration and weather related disruptions in January.

The completion of the installation of an automated grading system at the Mackenzie Site II planer mill in April 2012 is expected to result in improved grade outturns, productivity gains from increased throughput and lower labour costs. The Company also expects an increase in production and shipments of premium grade products to Japan during subsequent quarters.

Mackenzie, B.C. bioenergy cogeneration budget

Conifex also announced that it has approved a capital expenditures budget estimated to be $79 million, including a $7 million general contingency, to develop its bioenergy cogeneration project at Mackenzie, B.C.

The $72 million amount, net of the contingency, represents an increase over previously estimated amounts with the increase largely due to the acceleration of certain project enhancements originally contemplated to be undertaken during the first three years of commercial operations and funded out of segment cash flows. The company has decided to include these additional components within the initial construction phase in order to avoid further construction related disruptions to ensuing future bioenergy activities at the site. The expanded scope is expected to increase EBITDA as a result of improved uptime and fuel efficiency and reduced operating and maintenance costs.

The existing project site and infrastructure carries a book value of approximately $10 million and as at March 31, 2012, the company has invested an additional $9.1 million in project development and equipment costs. The company expects to invest an additional $7 million in the project and expects to secure debt facilities to finance the balance of the expenditures. Proceeds of incentive funds from a Load Displacement Agreement with BC Hydro should also be available to the company. The company expects project financing to be in place and construction to commence in or about the third quarter of 2012.

Source: Conifex

Conifex Timber reports net quarterly loss of $6.5 million is a post from: ForestTalk.com

AbitibiBowater Inc., doing business as Resolute Forest Products, has announced that its Board of Directors has authorized the repurchase of up to 10% of the company’s common stock for an aggregate purchase price of up to US$100 million. The repurchase program will be funded using the company’s available cash.

“We are taking advantage of our strong financial position to act on an attractive opportunity to return cash to shareholders,” said Richard Garneau, President and Chief Executive Officer. “The Company will continue to manage its capital with the utmost discipline, carefully balancing initiatives to return cash to shareholders with other considerations, such as pursuing sound capital investments and opportunities to further increase Resolute’s earnings power.  We are committed to enhancing shareholder value in the long term.”

The company is authorized to repurchase from time to time shares of its outstanding common stock on the open market or in privately negotiated transactions in the United States.

The timing and amount of stock repurchases will depend on a variety of factors, including the market conditions as well as corporate and regulatory considerations. The share repurchase program may be suspended, modified or discontinued at any time and the company has no obligation to repurchase any amount of its common stock under the program. The repurchase program has no set expiration date. The company intends to make all repurchases in compliance with applicable regulatory guidelines and to administer the plan in accordance with applicable laws, including Rule 10b-18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Source: Resolute Forest Products

Resolute Forest Products wants to repurchase shares is a post from: ForestTalk.com

The fire burning near Kirkland Lake, Ontario is continuing to grow, prompting emergency services to plan how to evacuate areas of Kirkland Lake if necessary.

Right now the fire is 3 kilometres from town and is 2757 ha in size.  If the fire moves to within 1 km of Kirkland Lake, then evacuations will be announced.

If an evacuation is necessary, it is likely the citizens will be moved south because there are several fires of concern burning to the north, especially in the Timmins area.

An Emergency Area Order has been declared for some areas of Kirkland Lake, limiting access to all forest roads and crown land. (view the emergency order)

A total of 300 people have been evacuated from Goldthorpe road (West side of Kirkland Lake), Goodfish Lake and other northerly lakes.

For information regarding evacuation and road closures in the Kirkland Lake area, please call the Kirkland Lake Municipal Office at 705-568-9365 ext. 221.

Ontario’s Northeast Region

Currently there are 45 active fires in the province of Ontario, 17 of which are listed as Not Under Control. There are 28,870 hectares burning in the province, predominantly in the Northeast Region.

The Timmins 09 fire is now 21,088 ha in size. Karen Passmore, a spokesperson with the Ministry of Natural Resources in Timmins, said they’re, “really concerned …about the changing wind direction and whether or not it will push the fire towards town.” This fire grew significantly overnight and is now 45km in length.

Highway 101 is closed near Timmins due to fire. Another fire near Gogama has closed a section of Highway 144. For highway closure information, please call the OPP at 1-888-310-1122

To see Ontario’s current fires on a map, visit Current Forest Fire Situation in Ontario

Read more:
Current Fire Situation (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources)
The latest from CJKL in Kirkland Lake (on Facebook)
Kirkland Lake prepares for evacuation (CBC)

Kirkland Lake fire update is a post from: ForestTalk.com

The Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment will be hosting a series of open meetings seeking public input on proposed new legislation called “The Wildfire Act” to replace The Prairie and Forest Fires Act, 1982, one of the oldest pieces of fire legislation in Canada, which has not kept pace with current wildfire practices.

The new legislation promotes the government goals of sustainable economic growth and ensuring public safety in the following areas:

• Increases efficiency and reduction of administrative requirements;
• Places responsibility, appropriately shared by government with individuals, stakeholders or other jurisdictions;
• Enhances protection for public safety and the environment;
• Clarifies responsibility for wildfire administration and suppression within municipal jurisdictions;
• Enhances prevention initiatives within wildland urban interface areas; and
• Administers industrial and commercial operations under a results based regulatory framework.

The ministry began consultations within government in March 2012 and is now embarking on extensive public consultation meetings during the months of May and June with stakeholders, First Nations and Métis people, industry, municipalities, communities and the public in general.

“The Ministry of Environment is moving forward to address long-needed changes to the current legislation,” Environment Minister Dustin Duncan said. “I encourage the public and stakeholders to actively participate in the review process and work with the province to develop new and modernized legislation.”

Public meeting are not being scheduled during peak wildfire season. Consultations with northern communities will resume in September.

Discussion papers highlighting key changes within the Act and information on the Provincial Wildfire program are available on the Ministry of Environments website at www.environment.gov.sk.ca.

Upcoming Meetings

Prince Albert, Wednesday May 23, PA Exhibition Centre – East Room, 7pm
Nipawin, Thursday May 24, Evergreen Centre, 7pm
Saskatoon, Wednesday May 30, Travelodge Hotel – Hercules Room, 7pm
Regina, Monday June 4, Travelodge Hotel – Burlington Room, 7pm
Hudson Bay, Tuesday June 5, Hudson Bay Curling Club, 7pm
Meadow Lake, Thursday June 7, Lutheran Church Hall, 7pm

New wildfire act being proposed in Saskatchewan is a post from: ForestTalk.com

A truck delivering formaldehyde to the Tembec mill in Temiscaming, Quebec crashed this afternoon on Highway 63 north in Ontario.

The crash caused some of the formaldehyde to dump directly into Trout Lake, which is the main source of drinking water for North Bay, Ontario.

The driver was killed in the incident. It is not yet known if the driver died from injuries sustained in the crash, or if he was killed by exposure to highly toxic formaldehyde.

People were evacuated from the area to avoid the hazardous fumes from the formaldehyde. The highway is expected to be closed into Tuesday.

It is not known how much of the truck load entered the lake. At this time, the North Bay and Parry Sound District Health unit is advising the municipal drinking water supply is not in danger, however all residents who are on a private water system near the lake are being warned not to drink the water.

Read more:
Health unit warns against using Trout Lake water near chemical spill (North Bay Nugget)

Truck delivering formaldehyde to Tembec crashes, killing driver. Chemical spilled into lake is a post from: ForestTalk.com

A forest fire started late this afternoon near Halifax, Nova Scotia.

The fire is raging in the Williams Lake area of Halifax – between Purcells Cove and Herring Cove roads in a wooded area known as the barrens.

Several square kilometres have already burned, leading to the evacuation of all the houses along a section of Purcells Cove Road.

Several roads have been blocked off.

Two helicopters from the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources are now attacking the fire.

This is the same area where a brush fire destroyed several homes in 2009.

Read more:
Firefighters battle forest fire near Spryfield (Chronicle Herald)
Brush fire in Halifax forces evacuation (CBC)

Forest fire blazing near Halifax is a post from: ForestTalk.com

About 300 residents near Kirkland Lake, Ontario were served evacuation notices yesterday when a 1,500 ha forest fire was discovered burning near town.

Crews from the Kirkland Lake Fire Department worked yesterday with crews from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources to fight the fire. Water bombers are being used to tackle the blaze from the air.

Residential and cottage areas on Goodfish and Nettie Lake and in Chaput Hughes were evacuated Sunday afternoon and residents were still unable to return home today.

At noon today (Monday), the fire is now 2,757 ha in size.

The fire has damaged several power poles, disrupting power to the AuRico Gold Inc.’s Young-Davidson gold mine and to Kirkland Lake Gold. Kirkland Lake Gold was able to evacuate its gold mine and is leaving a skeleton crew onsite to secure the mine.

Read more:
Forest Fire in Kirkland Lake (MooseFM)
Fires force evacuations near Kirkland Lake, Timmins (North Bay Nugget)
300 evacuate forest fire in Kirkland Lake (Toronto Sun)

Evacuation notices in Kirkland Lake, Ontario is a post from: ForestTalk.com

A fire broke out around 4am on Saturday at the Absolute Lumber Products mill in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

When firefighters arrived on scene, the flames were shooting into the air, and the smoke was so thick it was setting off smoke alarms in apartment buildings several kilometres away.

The firefighters were able to get the fire under control in 45 minutes, and spent many hours on Saturday attacking hot spots.

Assistant Fire Chief Jeff Adams said, “The building itself is probably a writeoff. The actual equipment that they use for doing the millwork is on the outside. We were able to save that. Where they stored their forklifts and office supplies, that’s where the fire was.”

The lumber mill produced over 75,000 boardfeet of pallet cutstock in a day, and employed 12.

It is not yet known what caused the fire.

Read more:
Another B.C. lumber mill engulfed in flames (CTV)
Another mill in B.C. razed by fire (Toronto Sun)
Massive blaze destroys Abbotsford mill (Abbotsford News)
Absolute Lumber Products (Company Website)

Massive fire destroys Absolute Lumber Products lumber mill in Abbotsford, B.C. is a post from: ForestTalk.com

One of the four pension plan groups at Corner Brook Pulp and Paper voted against giving Kruger 10 years, instead of 5, to repay the shortfall in their pension plans.

Results of the vote:

-Pension Plan for Unionized Employees:
-Active members (326): ……………177 objections ……….54.3%
-Retired members (617): …………. 31 objections …………. 5.0%

-Pension Plan for Non-Unionized Employees:
-Active members (78): ………………6 objections ………….7.7%
-Retired members (218): …………..7 objections …………..3.2%

Under Newfoundland and Labrador legislation, in order for the relief measures to be applied, they cannot be opposed by more than one-third of members in each group (active and retirees). Consequently, with 54.3% of active unionized employees opposing the proposal, the relief measures cannot be applied to the unionized employees’ pension plan.

Kruger now plans to reassess the viability of Corner Brook Pulp and Paper’s operations. The pension relief measures were a crucial element in the Kruger’s strategy for the mill to improve its competitiveness and secure its future.

Kruger said the Kruger Company has gone to extraordinary lengths to support its Corner Brook operation in a very challenging market afflicted by declining demand for newsprint, increasing energy costs and the negative effects of a strong Canadian currency on exports.

In addition to these challenges, the Corner Brook Mill has to contend with other Canadian paper mills that have competitive operating costs and benefit from the additional advantage of funding relief measures for their own pension plan deficits.

Kruger said is disappointed with this outcome, especially considering the countless efforts that were put in over the last few weeks to communicate with plan members to seek their support.

Source: Kruger

Kruger to reassess viability of Corner Brook operation after vote doesn’t go their way is a post from: ForestTalk.com

Resolute Forest Products now owns 74.56% of Fibrek. Resolute’s offer for Fibrek closed at 5pm today.

As aggregate consideration for the shares taken up today, Resolute will distribute approximately 135,000 newly-issued shares of its common stock and CAD$2.6 million in cash through RFP Acquisition Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary.

Resolute is planning to carry out a second step transaction to acquire the Fibrek shares not deposited in the offer.  The second step transaction will first have to be approved by Fibrek’s shareholders.

Source: Resolute Forest Products

Resolute now owns 74.56% of Fibrek is a post from: ForestTalk.com

British Columbia’s Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations Minister Steve Thomson applauded today’s decision of the Legislative Assembly to form a Special Committee on Timber Supply to examine and make recommendations about mid-term timber supply in British Columbia, as a result of the mountain pine beetle infestation.

The committee will be conducting public consultations and has been asked to deliver a report by Aug. 15 this year.

The committee’s terms of reference are to specifically consider recommendations that could increase timber supply, including direction on the potential scope of changes to land-use objectives, rate of harvest and conversion of volume-based tenures to area-based tenures. The committee will also consider whether any changes to legislation are required.

In making its recommendations, the committee will need to consider the Province’s commitment to balance the budget and maintain competitive electricity rates; the need to maintain high environmental standards and protect critical wildlife habitat; orderly transition for communities to lower harvest levels; maintain a competitive forest industry; First Nations’ titles and rights; and the softwood lumber agreement and other trade agreements.

The committee is expected to hold its first meeting this week to elect its chair, develop a work plan and a schedule for public consultations.

The members of the Special Committee on Timber Supply are:

•  John Rustad, MLA Nechako Lakes (convenor)
•  Donna Barnett, MLA Cariboo-Chilcotin
•  Eric Foster, MLA Vernon-Monashee
•  Ben Stewart, MLA Westside-Kelowna
•  Harry Bains, MLA Surrey-Newton
•  Norm Macdonald, MLA Columbia River-Revelstoke
•  Bill Routley, MLA Cowichan Valley

The committee will be supported by a technical advisory committee that will include former provincial chief foresters Larry Pedersen and Jim Snetsinger.

Source: Province of British Columbia

New committee formed in British Columbia to examine mid-term timber supply is a post from: ForestTalk.com

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)

Company interested in producing wood pellets at the old Grand Falls-Windsor mill is a post from: ForestTalk.com

Recently, the most common question ForestTalk is asked is, “Whatever happened to that Boreal Forest Agreement?”, and “Have you heard anything about that Boreal Forest Agreement lately?”

To refresh our memories, the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement was signed 2 years ago.  21 forest companies, all members of the Forest Products Association of Canada, and 9 environmental organizations signed the agreement.  Through the agreement, the forest companies committed to the highest environmental standards of forest management and conservation, while environmental organizations commit to global recognition and support for the forest companies efforts.

Last year, in April 2011, the signatories of the agreement unveiled a Boreal Business Forum that would be a roundtable for the participants of the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement, as well as leading corporations and investors that have a strong interest in conserving the boreal forest.

The leading corporations included Axel Springer, Batirente, The Globe and Mail, Hearst Corporation, Indigo Books & Music, Kimberly-Clark, Limited Brands, Lowes, Office Depot, RONA, SHARE, Staples, Time Inc. and VDZ.

Today, the Vice President of Finance for one of these leading corporations dropped ForestTalk an email to ask if the Boreal Business Forum was still active and if any upcoming meetings were scheduled.

Was the historic agreement nothing but a media show?  A feel good, publicity stunt?  Smoke and mirrors?

This week, 3 of the environmental groups who signed the agreement – Canopy, ForestEthics, and Greenpeace – released a joint status report to reveal the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement has yet to deliver many results.  They indicate that the agreement was broken down into 75 milestones, each with a specific timeline attached.  58 of those milestones are unfilled, and only 10 were delivered on time.

Mark Hubert, vice president of environmental leadership at the Forest Products Association of Canada, said ”It’s a complex agreement but we’re making progress. Do we wish we were moving faster? Absolutely, but . . . there’s an extraordinary amount of work going on by both parties to make sure that we get to the finish line, so to speak.”

Janet Sumner, executive director of conservation group Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, and a member of the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement steering committee, said she doesn’t share the assessment of Canopy, ForestEthics, and Greenpeace.  “We’re at the penultimate moment in planning in several regions of the country.” Sumner said they are just weeks away from producing agreements that will protect forests and caribou lands in Quebec’s Lac St-Jean region and northwestern Ontario. Those agreements would then be passed to first nations groups and governments for their input.

So what do you think?
Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Read more including media coverage of the status of the Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement:
Environmental groups decry slow pace of boreal forest protection (The Globe and Mail)
Forest industry says boreal protection goals still on radar (Edmonton Journal)
Environmental groups split over slow pace of forest deal (Canadian Business)
Boreal forest agreement bogged down, environmentalists say (The Star)
Status report reveals lack of results on 2nd anniversary of world’s largest conservation initiative (Canopy & ForestEthics & Greenpeace)

The Canadian Boreal Forest Agreement … what was that again? is a post from: ForestTalk.com

Kruger sent a letter to its employees recently to say the company has been falsely accused of holding back information regarding the pension formula.

On Monday, the CEP held a pair of emergency union meetings in Corner Brook to discuss the alleged discovery that the negotiated proposal to grant the company a 5 year extension to make up for a deficit in pension plans would change the benefit formula.

Bruce Randell, president of CEP Local 242, said the reduction in pensions of current employees could be as much as 25% in 2014.

The deadline to approve the funding relief measures is Thursday.

The letter, signed by Daniel Archambault, chief operating officer of the Industrial Products Division of Kruger Inc., said “the company never had any intention to renege on its 2005 commitment and it is appalling to hear such declarations after we have helped the mill survive the recent recession and worked relentlessly with the unions to find solutions to secure the Corner Brook operation for the long term.”

Read more from The Western Star: Kruger says it was falsely accused by unions

Kruger denies hiding information about its pension formula is a post from: ForestTalk.com

EACOM Timber Corp. is reporting an operating loss of $7.788 million on sales of $59.9 million in the first quarter of 2012.

EACOM Timber is reporting a net income attributable to shareholders of $6.3 million in the first quarter.

During the quarter, the company shipped 128 million board feet of lumber (159 million board feet in the previous quarter and 170 million board feet in the corresponding quarter of 2011) and 120,000 oven-dried metric tons of by-products (129,000 oven-dried metric tons in the previous quarter and 161,000 oven-dried metric tons in the corresponding quarter of 2011).

In the first quarter of 2012, shipments were impacted as the Timmins operations have been interrupted since January 22, 2012 as a result of the fire at the mill site. The first quarter of 2012 results include a gain of $14,283,000 on disposal of property, plant and equipment destroyed by fire.

Pricing has improved in the first quarter of 2012 with benchmark lumber prices averaging US$329/Mfbm for studs and US$360/Mfbm for random lengths delivered Great Lakes, up 8% and 10% from US$304/Mfbm and US$326/Mfbm respectively in the fourth quarter of 2011. Mill realizations were, however, somewhat impacted by a strengthening Canadian dollar with the exchange rate averaging 1.001 in the first quarter of 2012, up 2% against an average of 0.977 in the previous quarter. Pricing for random lengths still remains 6% below the level achieved in the first quarter of 2011, whereas studs are trading at a similar level.

Lumber production for the quarter ended March 31, 2012 was 113 million board feet of lumber, against 111 million board feet in the previous quarter and 166 million board feet in the corresponding quarter of 2011. During the three-month period, the Company operated at 46% of its capacity with two of the eight mills acquired from Domtar idled, Ear Falls in Ontario and Ste-Marie in Quebec (45% during the previous quarter and 65% in the corresponding quarter of 2011 with no change to idled mills). Compared to the previous quarter, the lost capacity at Timmins has been partially mitigated by higher production levels at other mills while production in the fourth quarter was negatively impacted by the six-week closure at Gogama due to a fire at the mill site. Compared to the first quarter of 2011, operations in Val-d’Or and Matagami have been temporarily shut down in the second half of 2011 and the Timmins mill closed on January 22, 2012. These closures have been somewhat offset by the additional production at Elk Lake following the acquisition of the remaining one-third interest in the mill in the third quarter of 2011.

Unit costs improved compared to those experienced in previous quarters as a result of the higher cost mills taking market-related downtime. The positive impact of lower unit costs was, however, offset by the fixed costs incurred in respect of those mills that are either idled or shut down.

Read EACOM Timber’s full release

EACOM Timber reports net loss of $7.8 million in first quarter, 2012 is a post from: ForestTalk.com