400 jobs lost as Sunshine Coast chipping facility and pulp mill closes

Around 400 pulp mill and chipping workers at Port Mellon on Howe Sound learned on Thursday that they have lost their jobs.

According to forest products company Domtar, its Howe Sound mill and Bayview Fibre chipping facility in Port Mellon will be “indefinitely idled.” Operations are expected to cease in October.

“Despite capital investment of nearly $500 million since the mill was purchased in 2010, and the construction of the Bayview Fibre facility, the business cannot overcome reduced demand from Asia, unprecedented and sustained poor pricing for pulp globally, and a decline in affordable domestic fibre,” said Luc Thériault, Domtar’s president of Canadian operations.

“The business decision to indefinitely idle these facilities is the result of careful consideration and is not a reflection on the employees. The teams at Howe Sound and Bayview Fibre worked tirelessly to improve performance but current market conditions require this step.”

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The Truck Loggers Association said it was deeply disappointed by the announcement, calling it a “serious setback for B.C.’s coastal forest sector and the communities that depend on it.”

In a statement, the association noted independent logging and forestry contractors, local businesses and communities would all be impacted by the decision.

“The Truck Loggers Association continues to call on all government to take decisive action to improve access to economically viable fibre, address B.C.’s high-cost operating environment and create the conditions needed to sustain forestry jobs, contractors and rural communities.”