Canfor is looking at transferring some of its forest tenure in northern B.C. following its mill closure announcement in Vanderhoof and Fort St. John.
The mill closures, announced Sept.4, are will axe 500 jobs and remove 670 million board feet of annual production capacity.
In a Sept. 12 statement, Canfor said it is committed to exploring opportunities to divest some of its northern BC tenure to support other BC manufacturers who are facing similar challenges accessing economic fibre to support their operations.
The company said it has received indications of interest from several parties and will be considering options and engaging in discussions.
While Canfor did not say who the bidders were, Prince George based Brink Group of Companies owner John Brink took to social media to say he has submitted an intent to purchase sawmill operations and tenure from Canfor in Bear Lake, Fort St. John, Vanderhoof and Houston.
"This is a significant move that I believe will help stabilize the British Columbia forest industry and create/save over 5,000 jobs," Brink said in a Sept. 11 Facebook (now Meta) post.
Following the mill closure announcement, the United Steelworkers union, which represents 325 of the 500 employees at the mills, called for Canfor's tenure and timber rights to be revoked. Since 2011, Canfor has shut down 10 mills in the province, including nine in northern B.C., and the union argued that it is only fair for the tenures to be transferred to others who can provide jobs.
Two days ago (Sept. 9), Canfor also announced the sale of its tenure in the Mackenzie Timber Supply Area, covering 6.41 million hectares, to the McLeod Lake Indian Band and the Tsay Keh Dene Nation. Canfor estimates the proceeds from the Mackenzie tenure sale, along with the assets from the Mackenzie mill it shut in 2019, to be around $69 million.
