The Mayor of Clearwater says he understands why village council in Chase is in favour of Interfor acquiring Canfor’s timber cutting rights in the Adams Lake area.
Merlin Blackwell says the timing of the $60 million deal announced last month is most unfortunate.
“We’re all communities here, and I think we all need to stand together,”he said. “We actually have a TNRD meeting this week in Chase and I will be speaking with the Chase Mayor at least, and hopefully some of those Chase councillors to say, ‘hey, you know, maybe there’s a way we can work together on this’ versus you know letting this divide communities within the Thompson region.”
Mill workers in his community want the government to factor in local impacts before approving the sale, while in Chase, there is the belief that the deal will help enhance Interfor’s Adams Lake operation.
Both Blackwell and the Simpcw First Nation have previously said that Bill 22 is an opportunity for the province to nullify the transfer of assets from Canfor to Interfor.
As for the future, Blackwell is optimistic that Interfor will invest in the Clearwater and Vavenby area.
“It would definitely not be bringing back the full scale mill or anything along those lines but it maybe a small handful of jobs that may come back this way. Just because Canfor has left the building and Interfor is based in Adams Lake, doesn’t mean that parts of their operation can’t continue in the North Thompson valley.”
Blackwell says he would like to see five or six smaller milling operations that produce specialty wood products, employing between five to ten people, in addition to as many logging contractors as possible.