It is a blow to the community.
That is how County of Barrhead reeve Doug Drozd characterized the closure of the Timeu Forest Products.
Like many people in the area Drozd had heard the rumour that the mill near Fort Assiniboine might close, but he didn’t know that it had happened until the Barrhead Leader called asking for his reaction.
Millar Western announced they purchased all the shares of Timeu Forest Product’s parent company Spruceland Millworks in early January.
The Leader began making inquiries about the possible sale of Spruceland Millworks in December, but both companies were unable to comment as negotiations were still taking place.
“It’s a great loss to the community and it is very unfortunate that those jobs are no longer in the area,” he said, noting a number of workers at the Timeu mill lived in Barrhead. “The forestry industry is very important to the area, but it speaks to the difficulties the industry is having.”
Among the challenges to the forest industry is a tariff imposed (on average 20.23 per cent) by the U.S. Department of Commerce on Canadian softwood lumber products entering the U.S.
Local forestry product producers, with interests in the Whitecourt area, such as Millar Western and Alberta Newsprint Company, are also concerned what the provincial government’s efforts to protect endangered woodland caribou herds will mean to their ability to harvest trees. This is in addition to the impact of the Mountain Pine Beetle, which Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, estimates threatens six million hectares of Alberta’s pine forests. More than half of the major forest companies operating in Alberta are reliant on pine to continue operations.
Town of Barrhead mayor Dave McKenzie echoed Drozd saying he was disappointed when he first heard the news.
“It is never an easy thing to see, but I guess it is the nature of big business,” he said. “To put in all the time and effort, to do your best to make the company the best it can be and then something happens like this that is totally out of your control.”
