You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
Those lyrics from the 1983 rock band Cinderella certainly ring true as our region’s forestry sector deals with another gut punch.
On Tuesday, Canfor announced the permanent closure of its Northwood Pulp Mill by the end of this year, eliminating 300 direct jobs.
Representatives from both the federal and provincial government shared their thoughts on a sector that seems to be on the razor’s edge with no end in sight.
Among those who spoke to Vista Radio on Wednesday was B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar, who noted communication between him and Canfor regarding the Northwood closure had been ongoing for weeks.
Parmar noted that the current tailspin, which includes sinking pulp prices, is having a major effect on everyone’s bottom line.
“When you have pulp prices that steeply decline to about $600 and have that consistently, no pulp operator is making money right now in BC or in Canada. I have spoken to my colleagues out east who have facilities and they are in the same boat.”
“A few years ago, at the height of the pandemic, lumber prices were up immensely, and everyone was making money then. Workers were thriving and now we are in a downturn in the sector and arguably the most challenging time in British Columbia’s history with where lumber prices are.”
To compound the issue, the demand for B.C. pulp products and residuals has sharply taken a turn for the worse as countries like China is building up its own domestic pulp production.
“We have to find a new source for our residuals and that work has been happening for some time but it needs to be sped up given the challenges we face not only as a result of this closure but in other challenges we face in the region and in British Columbia.”
The buzz word that keeps reappearing is transformation. What does that term mean for someone who has just lost a 30-year career?
For Parmar, he wants to get the sector to a good enough place where a workers livelihood is no longer decided solely based on lumber prices.
“For me, transformation means moving away from boom-and-bust instability and uncertainty. I want to know if a worker joins the forest sector tomorrow has a successful career that they can retire from. I think too many workers see the path forward as uncertain and blockaded by the challenges we face.”
“When the Mountain Pine Beetle salvaging ended, it led to us to travel further to be able to get logs to our mills and that has added cost. There is fibre that is out there; it’s just not economically accessible. We have to find ways to ensure the sector is more competitive so it can access that,” added Parmar.
When asked if NDP policies around timber access and fibre availability has been a failure, Parmar pushed back on that notion and stated the sector’s struggles have been apparent for decades and is not a one-party problem.
“If you want to look at my government and the policies and programs that we have brought in, that is fair game – but you also have to look at the policies of the former BC Liberals prior to that. The forest sector here in British Columbia has been boom and bust for decades, one could argue for the last half a century. We have gone through periods of curtailments and closures, and one could argue this is the most immense challenge with much of it brought on by international disputes affecting workers.”
B.C. Conservative Prince George-North Cariboo MLA Sheldon Clare disagreed with Parmar’s last take suggesting that the issue has been government red tape that has gotten in the way of sectors achieving full potential.
“We are not prosperous about the way we have been going. Having significant blockages in our permitting structure and with the current bureaucracy, we are getting more expense with less service, and I think we need to look at everything.”
“One thing that has been hit hard besides forestry has been plaster mining. We are having trouble with people trying to get permits and get their notices of work processed. We are seeing more and more expenses.
“We cannot produce by increasing the size of the government. Governments don’t produce money they spend it and its not their money to spend, it’s the taxpayers,” added Clare.
Fellow Conservative representative Kiel Giddens, who serves the Prince George-Mackenzie constituency, echoed Clare’s sentiments and would like to see workers prioritized more than corporations.
“This comes down to policy choices. We need to make a choice to choose jobs for our region in the forestry sector and if the Conservatives were to gain power we would look forward to opening up permitting and opportunity on the land base.”
“Persistent constraints on fibre supply is at the heart of this problem. We have too many constraints on the land base whether its old-growth deferral or different management areas that are restricting access for manageable fibre.”
The Northwood closure hits close to home for Cariboo-Prince George Conservative MP Todd Doherty, who has been fighting tooth and nail for the reeling sector for the better part of a decade.
Doherty, who has the unique perspective of being on the front lines as a former forestry worker himself, stated it’s sad to see Ottawa not put the same effort into the portfolio as they do with the automotive, steel and aluminum sectors.
“I logged and drove skidder for a long time and in parliament, I may be the only one that knows what it’s like to have chain oil on my sandwiches when I ate lunch and drive out to a logging block at two or three in the morning to work 12 to 16 hours only to drive back. That is our way of life.”
“Our fences in our neighborhoods had little signs that said this house and this family is supported by forestry dollars and that has gone by the wayside.”
Doherty believes the north, including rural and remote areas, has taken the biggest brunt of the downturn.
“Since 2015, we have had over 30 mills close – 12 in our region alone. For me, it’s not about another mill closure; it’s another family that are facing hard times. Their partners are teachers or nurses, or they work within our community. You think about the truck drivers and the businesses that were built solely to provide critical products to supply operations for these mills that are likely facing closure.”
“100 Mile lost their last mill in the fall of 2025 and that was the number one employer in the community. Over 50 percent of the municipal tax base is gone, and there are communities throughout this province that solely depend on forestry. There are no new jobs coming behind it.”
In September 2024, Canfor announced it would be closing its sawmills in Vanderhoof and Fort St John by the end of that year.
In January 2023, the company announced the “right-sizing of their operating footprint” with the permanent closure of the pulp line at the Prince George Pulp and Paper Mill.
That same month, Canfor also shuttered its Houston and Chetwynd operations putting 500 people on the unemployment line.
Places like Mackenzie and Fort Saint James were also put in a financial bind after Conifex and Canfor closed facilities in those communities.
-With files from Darin Bain, My Prince George Now
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