B.C. forestry giant Canfor Pulp says it is permanently closing the pulp line at one of its Prince George mills, which will result in about 300 jobs lost.
The move comes as several forestry companies around the world are downsizing their operations due to changes in the market.
Kevin Edgson says the lack of raw material for creating market pulp led to the decision.
“In recent years, several sawmills have permanently closed in the Prince George region due to deductions in the allowable annual cut and challenges accessing cost-competitive fibre,” the Canfor president and CEO said in a written statement.
“This has had a material impact on the availability of residual fibre for our pulp facilities and we need to right-size our operating platform.”
The pulp line converted wood fibre into market kraft pulp, which is used for the manufacture of products including paper, tissues and towels.
The company says the pulp line at its Prince George Pulp and Paper Mill will be phased out by the end of March, cutting approximately 300 positions across the organization.
“We expect about 300 jobs in Prince George will be lost across the Canfor Pulp organization with the shutdown of the pulp line at PG Pulp and Paper Mill. This includes staff and hourly positions,” a spokesperson for the company said in an email statement.
“We will be working closely with the Public and Private Workers of Canada Local 9 which represents our employees at both the PG Pulp and Intercon mills to ensure that the Collective Agreement is followed and to support employees who are losing their job through this transition.”
A specialty paper facility at the mill will continue to operate.
Reduced operations across the industry
Canfor operates a total of four mills in Prince George, including a sawmill, the Prince George Pulp and Paper Mill, Northwood Pulp Mill and Intercontinental Pulp, each specializing in different wood and paper products.
However, operations at these locations have been curtailed in recent months.
Last week, the company said it would be extending sawmill curtailments across B.C. due to what it says are ongoing weak economic conditions and a lack of available fibre, affecting workers in Prince George, Chetwynd, Vanderhoof and Houston, B.C.
One of Canfor’s mills is pictured in the background. The company says operations at its mills have been curtailed in recent months. (CBC News)
Similarly, Tolko Industries announced the extension of downtime at its Soda Creek and Armstrong Lumber operations, citing market uncertainty, a move impacting more than 350 employees.
And earlier Wednesday, Burnaby-based Interfor Corp., said it will be reducing lumber production by at least eight per cent this quarter as market uncertainty affects demand.
Those cuts, the company said, will likely impact its operations in the U.S. — a move similar to that made by the B.C.-based West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., who on Tuesday said it would indefinitely curtail its Perry Sawmill in Florida later in January due to high fibre costs and softening lumber markets.
The lumber market has gone through unprecedented volatility in prices in recent years as the industry went through supply and demand shocks brought on in part by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his mandate letter to new forests minister Bruce Ralston, Eby wrote there is an “inescapable recognition that change is needed to ensure our forest industry is sustainable.”
Logs are pictured at a sawmill in Merritt, B.C., in February 2022. Premier David Eby warned that the province’s forestry sector has ‘never been under greater stress.’ (Ben Nelms/CBC)
Bob Simpson, former mayor of Quesnel and former B.C. cabinet minister currently serving on a forestry advisory committee for the province, says although the forest industry has gone through change in the past, it’s never been as significant as what is currently underway.
“I think it’s a higher degree of curtailments across the province, across the sector, that’s added a higher degree of uncertainty against the backdrop of pretty significant inflationary measures,” he said in an interview on CBC Daybreak North last week.
He also said the decline is the result of the industry failing to adapt to a changing economic and environmental climate, spending years clear-cutting and exporting raw logs for short-term profits rather than long-term sustainability.
TORONTO – Canada Goose Holdings Inc. says it has signed a deal that will result in the creation of its first eyewear collection.
The deal announced on Thursday by the Toronto-based luxury apparel company comes in the form of an exclusive, long-term global licensing agreement with Marchon Eyewear Inc.
The terms and value of the agreement were not disclosed, but Marchon produces eyewear for brands including Lacoste, Nike, Calvin Klein, Ferragamo, Longchamp and Zeiss.
Marchon plans to roll out both sunglasses and optical wear under the Canada Goose name next spring, starting in North America.
Canada Goose says the eyewear will be sold through optical retailers, department stores, Canada Goose shops and its website.
Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss told The Canadian Press in August that he envisioned his company eventually expanding into eyewear and luggage.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Almost seven years since news broke of an alleged conspiracy to fix the price of packaged bread across Canada, the saga isn’t over: the Competition Bureau continues to investigate the companies that may have been involved, and two class-action lawsuits continue to work their way through the courts.
Here’s a timeline of key events in the bread price-fixing case.
Oct. 31, 2017: The Competition Bureau says it’s investigating allegations of bread price-fixing and that it was granted search warrants in the case. Several grocers confirm they are co-operating in the probe.
Dec. 19, 2017: Loblaw and George Weston say they participated in an “industry-wide price-fixing arrangement” to raise the price of packaged bread. The companies say they have been co-operating in the Competition Bureau’s investigation since March 2015, when they self-reported to the bureau upon discovering anti-competitive behaviour, and are receiving immunity from prosecution. They announce they are offering $25 gift cards to customers amid the ongoing investigation into alleged bread price-fixing.
Jan. 31, 2018: In court documents, the Competition Bureau says at least $1.50 was added to the price of a loaf of bread between about 2001 and 2016.
Dec. 20, 2019: A class-action lawsuit in a Quebec court against multiple grocers and food companies is certified against a number of companies allegedly involved in bread price-fixing, including Loblaw, George Weston, Metro, Sobeys, Walmart Canada, Canada Bread and Giant Tiger (which have all denied involvement, except for Loblaw and George Weston, which later settled with the plaintiffs).
Dec. 31, 2021: A class-action lawsuit in an Ontario court covering all Canadian residents except those in Quebec who bought packaged bread from a company named in the suit is certified against roughly the same group of companies.
June 21, 2023: Bakery giant Canada Bread Co. is fined $50 million after pleading guilty to four counts of price-fixing under the Competition Act as part of the Competition Bureau’s ongoing investigation.
Oct. 25 2023: Canada Bread files a statement of defence in the Ontario class action denying participating in the alleged conspiracy and saying any anti-competitive behaviour it participated in was at the direction and to the benefit of its then-majority owner Maple Leaf Foods, which is not a defendant in the case (neither is its current owner Grupo Bimbo). Maple Leaf calls Canada Bread’s accusations “baseless.”
Dec. 20, 2023: Metro files new documents in the Ontario class action accusing Loblaw and its parent company George Weston of conspiring to implicate it in the alleged scheme, denying involvement. Sobeys has made a similar claim. The two companies deny the allegations.
July 25, 2024: Loblaw and George Weston say they agreed to pay a combined $500 million to settle both the Ontario and Quebec class-action lawsuits. Loblaw’s share of the settlement includes a $96-million credit for the gift cards it gave out years earlier.
Sept. 12, 2024: Canada Bread files new documents in Ontario court as part of the class action, claiming Maple Leaf used it as a “shield” to avoid liability in the alleged scheme. Maple Leaf was a majority shareholder of Canada Bread until 2014, and the company claims it’s liable for any price-fixing activity. Maple Leaf refutes the claims.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:L, TSX:MFI, TSX:MRU, TSX:EMP.A, TSX:WN)
TORONTO – TD Bank Group, which is mired in a money laundering scandal in the U.S., says chief executive Bharat Masrani will retire next year.
Masrani, who will retire officially on April 10, 2025, says the bank’s, “anti-money laundering challenges,” took place on his watch and he takes full responsibility.
The bank named Raymond Chun, TD’s group head, Canadian personal banking, as his successor.
As part of a transition plan, Chun will become chief operating officer on Nov. 1 before taking over the top job when Masrani steps down at the bank’s annual meeting next year.
TD also announced that Riaz Ahmed, group head, wholesale banking and president and CEO of TD Securities, will retire at the end of January 2025.
TD has taken billions in charges related to ongoing U.S. investigations into the failure of its anti-money laundering program.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
