Vanderhoof Mayor Gerry Thiessen stated the temporary production cuts at the Sinclar sawmill locations in Vanderhoof, Fort Saint James, and PG are an unfortunate sign of the times.
Thiessen told Vista Radio more dialogue needs to occur with the provincial government on the negative impacts old-growth deferrals have in our region.
“When you see pictures of old-growth forests – the ones out in Vancouver Island or down in McBride, nobody wants to harvest those trees but the deferrals that are here will certainly have an impact on access to wood in this area.”
“We have a transportation issue and we need to work with the government and CN Rail to make sure there is enough access to rail cars so that we can get our product to market.”
Starting April 25th, operations at Lakeland Mills, Nechako Lumber, and Apollo Forest Products will shift to a four-day workweek.
However, the Premium Pellet and Winton Homes operations will continue to run, as will the Prince George Downtown Renewable Energy System.
Thiessen noted while the production cuts aren’t great, it’s better than the alternative.
“Sinclar looking at a four-day workweek is really a good way of looking at it and certainly has kept our community as strong as possible during this time.”
“We are very thankful for the commitment of the Sinclar group to the community because having our workers being able to work a four-day week is certainly much more positive than the alternative where there are layoffs.”
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