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Eby says no to harvesting old growth for pulp to extend life of BC mill (Times Colonist)

The British Columbia government is looking for ways to help a pulp mill closing on Vancouver Island, Premier David Eby said Wednesday, but logging the province's old-growth forests for pulp is not an option.

Eby was scheduled to meet Wednesday with the head of the union representing the 350 Domtar workers who are set to lose their jobs, as well as the mayor of Crofton, where the mill is located.

A team from the Ministry of Jobs will be going to the community of about 1,500 people to identify opportunities around retraining and employment, the premier said, adding the government was mulling ways to keep some jobs at the site.

"If there's something else we can do, absolutely," he told an unrelated news conference earlier Wednesday. "But the idea that we would pulp old growth in order to buy a little bit of time is not a solution we're looking for" ...

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  1. Chris CDecember 4, 2025 at 9:49 AM

    He's not wrong. Loggin old growth for pulp is just about the lowest value option you can chose for that kind of timber. The issue isn't that Crofton doesn't;t have access to old growth trees for pulp. It's systemic. It's about pricing and costs and global competition. Even if royalties were reduced on the existing fibre, logging on the coast is more expensive than flatter and faster producing areas of the world. The market and teh product is changing. nearly 70% of paper is fromrecyled materials and more sustainableotions like bamboo are providing fibre. Mill efficiencies have reduced the cost of production, meaning that prices are lower. Trade uncertainty is higher too. Remember when we all read newspapers? Not any more. It's weird question to ask the premier, because even in an ideal forestry market, logging old growth for pulp doesn't make any sense.

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