The Canfor Corporation is permanently closing its Fox Creek sawmill.
In an announcement made July 28, the company said the closure is due to ongoing challenges like weak market conditions, high softwood lumber duties and tariffs from the U.S., and fibre supply impacts due to recent wildfires and the conclusion of the mountain pine beetle management strategy.
The organization says operations are expected to conclude late this summer.
“This is a difficult decision which we know will have a significant impact on our employees, their families, contractors and the community,” said Canfor President and CEO Susan Yurkovich. “This decision reflects the challenges facing our operation and does not diminish the dedication and contribution of our Fox Creek team. We are committed to helping those impacted navigate the transition ahead, including seeking opportunities for impacted employees at our other operations.”
About 70 employees will be affected by the closure, and Canfor expects to offer about 30 per cent of those people opportunities at its Whitecourt location, other operations, or taking care of the Fox Creek site.
The company says it did receive support from Alberta’s forestry and parks ministry, through which it accessed additional fibre sources to help sustain its operations and local economic activity. Unfortunately, however, available fibre in the region has reportedly become insufficient following the end of the pine beetle strategy and exhaustion of wildfire-damaged timber.
The closure represents a reduction of 120 million board feet in Canfor’s production capacity.
The Fox Creek sawmill was destroyed by a fire in 2008 and rebuilt in 2011 as a single-shift operation to process increased available timber under Alberta’s preventative pine beetle strategy.
“Canfor has proudly operated in Alberta for more than 70 years, and we remain committed to pursuing opportunities to strengthen our operations in the province, including our Grande Prairie and Whitecourt sawmills and our value-added manufacturing facilities at Spruceland and the newly acquired PinkWood,” Yurkovich commented.
She added that the company’s goal is to ensure those operations can successfully compete in the global marketplace while generating jobs.
