Feds commit to helping Northwood employees

According to the company, there is no foreseeable improvement in market conditions, leading executives to make what they described as a difficult but necessary decision to permanently close the facility.

The Northwood mill has long been a major employer in Prince George and a key component of the region’s forest industry. The loss of 300 direct jobs is expected to have ripple effects throughout the local economy, impacting contractors, service providers and businesses that rely on mill workers and forestry activity.

The announcement also comes at a time when the broader B.C. forest sector continues to grapple with mill closures, reductions in timber supply, and uncertainty in export markets.

Federal Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson acknowledged the challenges facing forestry workers but said the federal government’s focus remains on supporting affected communities and helping the industry adapt.

“We can’t control what the Americans do. What we can control is what we do,” Hodgson said when asked about the federal response to the Northwood closure.

He noted that workers in the forest products sector have faced repeated trade disputes and tariffs imposed by the United States.

“We fully understand that workers in the forest products sector have been on the wrong end of unfair and unjust tariffs from the United States,” Hodgson said. “This is, I think, the fifth iteration of these over time. And we’re going to do everything we can to help.”

Hodgson pointed to more than $2 billion in federal programs announced over the past year to help forestry-dependent communities and workers weather ongoing industry challenges.

“We’ve announced more than $2 billion of programs over the last year to try and cushion that blow,” he said.

The minister added that Ottawa is working closely with the Province of British Columbia on longer-term strategies aimed at strengthening and diversifying the forest products sector.

“We’re working very closely with British Columbia,” Hodgson said. “We worked on a transformational task force to look at how we can create more opportunity in the forest products sector.”

He said discussions are ongoing with provincial officials and local leaders about how to position the industry for future growth and reduce reliance on markets that have become increasingly difficult for Canadian producers.

The province, meanwhile, says immediate attention will focus on helping affected workers and assessing what additional support may be required.

In previous years, forestry workers impacted by old-growth deferrals, fibre shortages and reductions in B.C. Timber Sales access could apply for assistance through the province’s Bridging to Retirement Program. That program is no longer in place.

Jobs and Economic Development Minister Ravi Kahlon said the province remains open to considering various forms of support but has not committed to reinstating the retirement program.

“It is something that is always available for us to consider,” Kahlon said.

At this stage, he said, government officials are concentrating on coordinating a community response and gathering more information about the workforce impacts.

“We do have a community transition team that is going to be working with the city, with the union, with workers, and the company,” Kahlon said.

The minister noted that Canfor has indicated some employees may be able to transition into positions at other operations, although the extent of those opportunities remains unclear.

“The company has told us that some of the workers will be able to be shifted to other operations,” he said. “We’ll have to do an assessment of how many people are still there and then make decisions at that point.”

For many workers, however, uncertainty remains. The closure announcement leaves hundreds of employees facing questions about employment, retirement, retraining and relocation options.

Hodgson ended his remarks by speaking personally about the impact a mill closure can have on a forestry community.

“As someone who grew up in a logging town on northern Vancouver Island for part of my life, and knows how challenging it is when a mill closes and what it does to a community, we understand,” he said.

The minister said governments will continue working to help the industry evolve and become less dependent on markets that have become increasingly unpredictable.

“We’re going to do everything we can to help the industry transform itself and be less reliant on markets that don’t seem to want our products,” Hodgson said.

While governments discuss transition plans and long-term strategies, the reality for Northwood’s workforce is immediate. For the approximately 300 employees directly affected by the closure, decisions about the future cannot wait.

As Prince George absorbs the news, attention will now turn to what support programs become available, how many workers find opportunities elsewhere within the industry, and what the loss of one of the city’s major industrial employers will mean for the local economy in the months and years ahead.

Disclosure: Pattison Media is owned by Jim Pattison Industries, a majority shareholder in Canfor.

by Cheryl Jahn

Feds commit to helping Northwood employees

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