MLA Blair Lekstrom Says News Of Canfor Closing In Chetwynd Devastating

Wednesday, December 05, 2007 11:38 AM

The MLA for Peace River South, Blair Lekstrom ,says he is devastated by Canfor’s announcement that they will close the Chetwynd operation in the New Year.

"Forestry is the back bone of this community, and Canfor shutting down has an effect on the entire region,"says Lekstrom.

’I was notified of the impending closure yesterday , I have arranged a meeting between the officials of Canfor and the Minister of Forests, and I will do everything in my ability to help these people."

Lekstrom says the news will hit hard “This isn’t about a mill closing, it’s about people living in a region for a life style , and these are a lot of young families who came here to raise their families that suddenly find the future is gone. "

Canfor, Lekstrom says, has told him that the reason for the shut down wasn’t the stumpage or other local factors but rather the American dollar and the price of lumber and the future of both in the US market.

"People have been phoning me because this not only affected the people who work at the mill but also the trucking industry and the contractors, this is a major hit to this community."

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Posted on Wednesday, December 05, 2007 11:38 AM in News by 250 News

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Comments

Posted by: Harbinger on December 5 2007 3:47 PM

Devastated by the announcement? He should feel kinda lucky he din't lose his job. Losing yer job is devastating.

Posted by: Raparee on December 5 2007 4:08 PM

Another example of the need to diversify economies and markets.

Posted by: diplomat on December 5 2007 6:53 PM

The Canadian dollar is 98.43 US cents today, so things are looking up. How about some tax relief for both the companies and the employees so they can keep working at a temporary lower rate of pay, agreed on by all sides as an emergency measure? Both the Federal Government and the Province are boasting about continuing huge surplus budgets and they can afford to not collect a few hundred millions in taxes for a limited amount of time.

O.k., ideas like that one are probably illegal under NAFTA, the WTO and whatever else we signed and are handcuffing us now.

So much for national sovereignty.

Posted by: RUEZ on December 5 2007 10:47 PM

The lumber industry has to be able to stand on it's own through good times and bad. Bailing them out with tax money is not a good idea. Producing more lumber when there is already over production is also a bad idea.

Posted by: owl on December 5 2007 11:48 PM

If the product were needed, then solutions such as lower pay would work.

The problem is, there is an oversupply. So, why produce more to store somewhere? Once one has two years of supply stored, it would make sense to close the production line for two years.........

Posted by: Chadermando on December 6 2007 1:33 AM

Blair you are the one that advocate selling the BC Rail service to CN, so I don't think your qualified to provide solutions to the problem you created in the first place.