Mayor, MLA candidates speak out regarding Canfor mill closure

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — Both Peace River North MLA candidates say the closure of Canfor’s Fort St. John sawmill will have a devastating impact on the community.

Canfor announced on Wednesday that it plans to close its Fort St. John sawmill by the end of the year, resulting in the loss of more than 200 direct jobs in the community.

Don Kanye, the President and CEO of Canfor, told employees in a teleconference on Wednesday that the decision wasn’t made easily or quickly.

“While we will always be prepared to manage through challenging times and market fluctuations, the situation we find ourselves in today is unsustainable,” Kanye said.

Kanye says the company is disheartened to have to close the mill, and that he’s personally “saddened and frustrated” at the state of forestry in B.C.

“We know this is devastating news, and will be a lot to absorb in a message like this,” he said. “In the coming days we will be working with our union partners to set up transition offices, and to explore all options to mitigate impacts on [employees], including severance.”

When asked about the closure at a Thursday morning press conference, Independent candidate Dan Davies said it would affect far more people than just those employed by Canfor.

“It’s the spin-off,” Davies explained. “It’s the logging contractors. It’s all the contractors that support the mill. They’re all good, paying jobs, so it’s going to have an exponential impact on the community.”

Canfor cited millions of dollars in losses caused by “high costs, operating complexity, and the persistent challenge [of] accessing enough economic fibre” as the reason for closing the mill.

Davies says many mills have closed across B.C. over the last few years because of the “overwhelming burden” of meeting government regulations.

“You’ve got to remember, we’re not just competing within ourselves. We’re competing against the United States, other jurisdictions like Alberta, and we’re not competitive, and that makes it a real challenge.”

Conservative candidate Jordan Kealy, a millwright by trade, echoed similar sentiments in a statement to Energeticcity.ca.

“[The sawmill] has provided hundreds of jobs to the community, and that’s just looking at the direct jobs. When you look at the indirect jobs, you could probably multiply that by four.”

Kealy called forestry the “backbone” of many rural communities and said seeing mills like the one in Fort St. John close is a massive blow to them.

“Those jobs we’re eliminating, they’re good-paying jobs for skilled people that have good benefits, that you can raise families off of, and I think this is a perspective from the NDP, that they really are just focusing on the urban perspective.”

Fort St. John Mayor Lilia Hansen also issued a statement on social media about the closure, saying she and the rest of city council are “shocked and saddened” by the announcement.

“This news is a significant hit to our community and the families directly affected,” Hansen said. 

“City council has worked closely with industry partners like Canfor through recent challenging times, and we remain committed to advocating for better regulatory conditions to support our local economy and workforce.”

Along with the facility in Fort St. John, Canfor is also set to close its sawmill in Vanderhoof.