Employees are still coming to work here at the Howe Sound Pulp and Paper Mill but not for much longer.
On Thursday, Domtar, the company that owns the mill, announced it will be indefinitely idling operations, impacting around 400 workers.
“It was a lot of heads hanging down, a lot of just, everyone was defeated. We did not see this coming,”
Angela Cantarutti, a ship loader of almost 10 years, was on the job when the news broke.
She had hoped to retire at the mill, just as her mother did.
“This has been the dream to raise my family where I grew up, a place where everyone is so supportive and loving. We’re gonna start losing the people that have populated the sunshine coast because this was a main employment for them.”
The news potentially uprooting hundreds of families.
“It’s going to be a huge toll on the community, and unfortunately, because we have to rely on the ferry, there;s not anywhere close we can drive to get another good paying job,” said Janet Boyce, a checker at Howe Sound Pulp Mill.
“I moved here last year just for this job, and it’s a huge shock for everyone here, a lot of people moved from the mill that closed from Crofton,” said Chirag Mishra a reliability engineer at Howe Sound Pulp Mill.
The mill is the largest private employer on the Sunshine Coast and produces 380,000 metric tonnes of northern bleached softwood kraft annually.
Domtar cited as the reason for the closure, reduced demand from Asia, historically low pulp pricing and a decline in affordable domestic fibre.
“Pulp prices have been an issue for a couple years now, especially in China where we send a lot of products to. So it’s made it challenging, so of course with multiple sawmills and other pulp mills going down, the option to get fibre and chips has been challenging,” said Josh Lacey, first VP, for Unifor 1119.
This is just the latest hit to B.C.’s forestry sector, with at least 21 lumber mill closures since 2023.
While the community is unsure of what comes next, they can all agree on one thing.
“We’re at a point now where our government has to step in.”
“Definitely need the support of government, we need to tap in to some of their resources, both provincial and federal.”
“A working group was struck with Domtar and the union to try and look at options to keep this mill going, it’s definitely what I will advocate for, to see if we can get back to the table to save these jobs,” said Randene Neill, MLA for Powell River-Sunshine Coast.
In the meantime, employees are told their work here will end on Sept. 28th, with a full shutdown planned for October.
