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Canfor a introduit la fermeture définitive de ses opérations de Chetwynd, en Colombie-Britannique, en plus d’une fermeture de courte durée de sa scierie de Houston, créant des défis supplémentaires pour le personnel du secteur forestier.
La société a mentionné que la fermeture de sa scierie et de son usine de granulés de Chetwynd fait partie de ce qu’elle appelle une restructuration des opérations dans la province, tandis que la fermeture momentanée de sa scierie à Houston, entre-temps, fait partie d’une restructuration centrée sur la fabrication.
Bien que l’entreprise n’ait pas précisé le nombre d’emplois pouvant être inférieur, le syndicat représentant le personnel à chaque endroit estime qu’au moins 400 personnes pourraient être sans emploi.
“Mon téléphone portable n’arrête pas de sonner”, a déclaré Jeff Bromley, président du United Steelworkers Wooden Council.
“[Il y a] beaucoup de chagrin d’amour, beaucoup de confusion.”
Bromley a déclaré que 120 personnes travaillent à la scierie de Chetwynd, à environ 300 kilomètres au nord-est de Prince George, tandis que 280 sont employées à Houston, à environ 300 kilomètres à l’ouest de la même ville. Les emplois peuvent également être inférieurs à l’usine de granulés de Chetwynd.
Il a noté que leurs endroits éloignés rendaient peu probable que le personnel licencié ait la possibilité de rester dans leurs communautés.
“Ce n’est pas facile de promouvoir uniquement votre maison et de découvrir d’autres travaux”, a-t-il déclaré.
“C’est un effet majeur sur les petites communautés.”
Fourniture de fibres en baisse
L’annonce intervient deux semaines après que Canfor a annoncé la suppression de 300 emplois alors qu’elle supprime progressivement l’une de ses traces de pâte à papier de Prince George.
In all circumstances, the corporate blamed dwindling long-term fibre provide for the modifications as the quantity of accessible timber out there for harvest declines.
“We’re making these troublesome however mandatory selections to create a extra sustainable working footprint in B.C.,” president Don Kayne mentioned in a written assertion.
“Our objective is to match our mill capability with the economically out there fibre for harvest to reinforce our capacity to compete and to function all through the market cycles.”
Canfor says it’s going to wind down each Chetwynd and Houston operations someday this spring, eradicating roughly 750 million board toes of annual manufacturing capability.
Afterward, it says it’s going to start redeveloping its Houston website to develop into “a globally aggressive manufacturing facility,” geared toward producing “excessive worth merchandise from the sustainable timber provide within the area.”
Nonetheless, Bromley warned that might probably be a two-year course of and end in fewer jobs than earlier than.
“It can convey jobs again to Houston, but it surely will not be 280, that is for positive.”
Business-wide challenges
Liberal MLA Mike Bernier, whose Peace River South using contains Chetwnyd, said in a Facebook post he’d been informed Canfor was unable to get assured certainty on fibre provide, resulting in its choice to shut the vegetation.
“It is exhausting to make any selections to remain open when you’ll be able to’t entry wooden anymore,” he wrote.
The lowered provide have been blamed on a number of factors, together with fallout from the mountain pine beetle, forest fires and forestry administration practices by corporations centered on short-term profitability over long-term sustainability.
Canfor is not alone in downsizing operations consequently: earlier this week, each Tolko Industries and Sinclair Forest Merchandise introduced additional curtailments at operations all through B.C.’s Inside and north, impacting more than 700 employees.
In response, the province introduced a number of helps for the trade, together with a $90-million manufacturing jobs fund, $50 million to access hard-to-reach fibre in fire-damaged regions, and a $4.5-million funding to help re-open a Vancouver Island pulp and paper mill.
After Canfor’s announcement, forests minister Bruce Ralston and jobs minister Brenda Bailey issued a joint launch saying group help groups have been deployed to present assets and providers to assist impacted staff following the job cuts.
In addition they expressed help for Canfor’s plans in Houston, saying the addition of a producing plant will guarantee “good forestry jobs stay within the area” in alignment with their general technique of making extra value-added jobs.
However whereas that could be a silver lining on the horizon, Bromley mentioned for now, staff throughout the trade are anxious about their jobs being on the road.
“I concern now there’s extra [cuts] to occur,” he mentioned. “We simply do not know the place or when.
“The uncertainty is palpable.”