The United Steelworkers union has urged Premier Lorne Calvert to remove the international forestry giant’s timber rights: Calvert has suggested that this is a possibility.
“I think that it’s only common sense that if you’re not doing business in our province, why would you have access to our timber?” he said.
Weyerhaeuser has announced plans to mothball two mills in Saskatchewan, having already closed three other mills in the province this year, including its pulp and paper mill in Prince Albert. Around 1,000 jobs have either gone or are under indefenite layoff notices.
The company said its decision had to do with balancing production with orders.
Meanwhile a task force report on forest development in the area said the closure at Prince Albert had a dramatic impact on the forest sector.
“The closure had a ripple effect throughout the province,” stated the report, eliminating nearly 4,000 direct and indirect jobs.
