The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Jonathon Naylor Editor Prince Albert is rejoicing following word that the city's dormant pulp mill will undergo renovations and reopen in as little as 18 months. Domtar announced Monday it has sold the mill to Paper Excellence, which will spend over $200 million to modify the facility so it can produce dissolving pulp for the production of a variety of products, including rayon. The revamped mill is expected to create 200 jobs Ð a boon for the PA economy but still far below the roughly 700 jobs the facility once yielded. It is expected to open in 18 to 24 months. "This announcement helps secure the economic future for Prince Albert," said Prince Albert Mayor Jim Scarrow. "More than 200 direct jobs and many more in a revitalized forest industry. It is a truly great day for Prince Albert." Premier Brad Wall also welcomed the announcement. "We're very pleased to see this deal come together," he said. "This project is great news, and it was achieved without the direct investment of taxpayers' money." Energy and Resources Minister Bill Boyd said the Netherlands-based Paper Excellence owns the mill in Meadow Lake and has "an excellent track record in our province in terms of business leadership and environmental stewardship." The province said it has taken several steps in support of the mill restart, such as allocating 660,000 cubic metres of softwood pulp fibre from the Prince Albert Forest Management Area. There is also an agreement that will see SaskPower purchase surplus electricity from a biomass power facility to be incorporated into the mill. The deal calls for the purchase of biomass power at a price consistent with rates charged for this kind of project. In addition to maintaining the existing environmental liability for a period of time when the mill operated as a Crown corporation prior to 1986, the province said it will also ensure that new pension plan agreements will be in place that respect the obligations to previous employees. In addition, $500,000 per year will be allocated for the first two years, to train new mill operators. Workers will need to be trained in new processes before working at the mill. Example Paper Excellence Canada Holdings Corporation director Ed Roste called the arrangement "an excellent example of what can be accomplished when government and industry work together." The mill has been closed since April 2006. The previous NDP government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Domtar designed to reopen the plant. But following its 2007 election victory, the Saskatchewan Party said it would not honour the MOU, which would have cost the province up to $99.7 million. "We do not believe that a taxpayer bailout is the right way to go, but there are other things we can look at to ensure a bright future for the Prince Albert pulp mill and Domtar's other assets in northern Saskatchewan," Boyd said at the time. When the MOU was signed in September 2007, the NDP suggested that operations could be up and running by late summer or early fall of 2008. Domtar was required to meet certain criteria, including working toward redeveloping the P.A. pulp mill into a Northern Bleached Softwood Kraft (NBSK) Pulp Mill producing 100 per cent Forestry Stewardship Council certified pulp. The mill was to also be expanded to produce green energy for sale into the provincial power grid, and a chip plant was to be built nearby. Ð With notes from Government of Saskatchewan news releases.
