Canfor’s decision to close Fort St. John and Plateau sawmills devastating blow to workers and communities

500 jobs lost including over 325 USW members

Burnaby, B.C. – The United Steelworkers union (USW) Local 1-2017 (Prince George, B.C.), and the USW Wood Council are devastated to learn of Canfor’s sudden decision to permanently close Fort St. John and Plateau (Vanderhoof, B.C.), sawmills impacting over 500 jobs, 325 of them USW members.

The mills will be slated for closure by the end of 2024.

While our collective agreements provide for decent closure severance and the USW will fight for every benefit and right afforded to members by the collective agreement and B.C. government programs, if any, it is time the B.C. government stood up for B.C.’s forest industry and the mostly rural communities that these closures are impacting.

“I can’t imagine what is going through the minds of our members and their families in Vanderhoof and Ft. St. John following the announcement,” said Jeff Bromley, USW Wood Council Chair.

“This is another kick in the gut for our members,” said Brian O’Rourke, USW Local 1-2017 President. “When does it stop? When is the B.C. government going to hold these companies accountable? Will the tenure and timber rights held by Canfor be taken away if they can’t mill that timber in those communities?”

“I doubt it,” O’Rourke added.

“There used to be accountability and a social contract for the forest industry to provide good-paying jobs to these communities in exchange for the right to harvest the timber. When is the government going to stand up for the public’s resource and the communities it supports?” continued O’Rourke.

USW District 3 Director Scott Lunny called on the B.C. government to put forward a concrete plan to resurrect the industry in British Columbia. “There needs to be a better effort by government to decide what vision they have for the industry in B.C.,” said Lunny. “Right now, we don’t know what that vision is and mills continue to close. Communities are impacted and families are devastated.”

The USW commits to hold Canfor and the government accountable. “We have a provincial election coming up and forest policy and a plan to renew the industry needs to be front and centre,” said Bromley. “If the government is going to do nothing more than throw retirement sums at those who are eligible, we’ll have no industry in B.C. in short order. That’s unacceptable.”

Since purchasing the Tembec mills and tenure in the East Kootenay, B.C., in November 2011, Canfor, then with 13 mills in B.C., purchased one mill in Creston, B.C., a non-union operation. In that time, 10 mills in B.C. have been closed, one (Canal Flats) in the southeast and nine in Northern B.C.

“If Canfor wants out of B.C., and it sure looks like it does, then we need to find someone who will provide high-paying, community-supporting jobs for the right to harvest the timber,” said Lunny. “If Canfor won’t do it, find a company that will invest in B.C.”

The USW represents over 13,000 workers in Canada’s forest industry including 9,000 in B.C.

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