Hundreds of jobs affected as Canfor makes cuts in northern B.C.

B.C. forestry giant Canfor has dealt a major blow to communities in northern B.C. with announcements affecting hundreds of jobs.

In a statement issued Thursday, the company said it is curtailing a production line at its Northwood pulp mill facility in Prince George due to a decline in economic fibre in northern B.C. 

In a separate statement, Canfor said it is permanently closing its Polar sawmill in Bear Lake and suspending plans to reinvest in its facility in Houston, B.C., following an analysis of the "persistent shortage of economically available timber and challenging operating conditions" in the region.

Four-hundred existing and 200 anticipated replacement jobs are impacted by the decision.

One-hundred-eighty employees will lose their positions at the Polar sawmill in Bear Lake, an unincorporated community of roughly 150 people located 75 kilometres north of Prince George. Operations at the mill had been curtailed since January.

A further 220 jobs will be impacted by the indefinite curtailment of a single production line at the Northwood pulp mill in Prince George, a processing plant that converts wood chips to pulp and paper products.

Approximately 450 people work at that facility.

And in Houston, about 300 kilometres west of Prince George, an anticipated 200 new jobs are now on hold as Canfor suspends its promise to build a new $200-million manufacturing facility after eliminating 300 jobs with the closure of the community's sawmill last year.

Canfor will continue to operate Northwood at a reduced capacity, as well as Intercontinental and Pulp and Paper, also in Prince George.

Jonathan Blacker, who works at Northwood and is president of Unifor Local 603 in Prince George, said the news was a blow to workers.

"They're pretty depressed right now, angry, shaken up, not knowing what the future holds because there's no clarity … It's so fresh that nobody knows what's going on," Blacker said. 

In its announcements, posted online, the company blames a decline in the amount of available fibre in the region, as well as "policy changes and increased regulatory complexity" for the decisions.

In one of the written statements, Canfor Pulp CEO Kevin Edgson said the decision to cut back production is a direct result of reductions and closures of sawmills in the region. 

With less wood waste being produced, he said, there is less material available for the pulp mill to convert.