'Use it or lose it': Prince Albert mayor calls for province to adapt to lumber demands
'Use it or lose it': Prince Albert mayor calls for province to adapt to lumber demands
Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne says the province needs to guarantee new players in the forest industry a steady supply of wood so they can operate in Prince Albert and provide jobs to local people.
“Everyone is shocked that there was not a use it or lose it clause because everyone knows in the last five years, how much wood could have been harvested around PA,” said Dionne.
He said he’s aware of wood supply issues for Paper Excellence, which is working to get wood to reopen the pulp mill; furniture manufacturer Pivot Subscriptions; and the proposed construction of a oriented strand board (OSB) factory by One Sky Forest Products.
Minister of Energy and Resources Bronwyn Eyre says the province has been able to provide a small amount of unutilized and unallocated timber to One Sky.
“There’s nothing precluding companies from entering into private agreements with each other. We always have to work within the timber allocation system that exists right now,” said Eyre.
Erye says because companies base their capital and business decisions on timber allocations, they are not breaking contracts.
“We are talking to all viable projects, including Pivot, One Sky and Paper Excellence to make sure we are clear on what they need and they’re clear on what we have in the area and that’s important as we move forwards to see these projects through,” said Eyre.
The government says they’re working with Paper Excellence to find a suitable solution. In Saskatchewan, Paper Excellence has a timber allocation, however it is seeking softwood to supply the revamped pulp mill operation in Prince Albert.
In respect to Pivot, Eyre says they do not have a running operation at present and they can enter into agreement with other companies while they work to find supply.
In 2010, Sakaw Askiy Management Inc. (Sakaw) took over the Prince Albert Forest Management Agreement (PAFMA) for the wood supply formerly held by Weyerhauser that supplied wood to the pulp and paper mill.
Sakaw is a corporation made up of five forest companies and two First Nations who have been allocated wood from within the PAFMA area.
This includes includes A.C. Forestry, Carrier Forest Products, Edgewood Forest Products Operations, Dunkley Lumber Ltd, Meadow Lake Mechanical Pulp Inc. Montreal Lake Business Ventures and NorSask Forest Products andTolko Industries Ltd. The PAFMA area also supplies wood to 13 forest product businesses and five mills.
Sakaw general manager Diane Roddy says she understands the position the new companies are taking.
“Generally businesses want their own wood supply to take to the bank to get their funding. Most of the wood is allocated but there is some hardwood and some small softwood tops that’s still available.”
Under The Forest Resource Management Act there are specific terms for softwood and hardwood harvesting. There’s also area-based term supply licenses (TSL) typically issued for two to five years.
Logging companies also have to complete and adhere to environmental impact studies and reforestation plans. About 23 percent of the forest in Saskatchewan is managed with TSL.
Sixty-one per cent of the province's commercial forest has long-term licensing arrangements with forest management agreements in place, according to the Saskatchewan government.
The province uses 20-year forest management plans for growth, harvesting, renewal or planting of tree seedlings, says Roddy.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They couldn't breathe': Survivor shares details inside migrant trailer
Simple advice from a friend to stay near the door may have saved Yenifer Yulisa Cardona Tomás from the deadly fate that befell 53 other migrants when they were abandoned trapped in a sweltering semi-trailer last week on the edge of San Antonio. The 20-year-old from Guatemala's capital said it was already hot on June 27 when she stepped out of the warehouse on the Texas side of the Mexico border where she had been waiting and climbed into the back of the trailer.

'Freedom Convoy' organizer Tamara Lich set to have bail hearing
Tamara Lich, an organizer of the 'Freedom Convoy,' is set to appear in an Ottawa court today for a bail hearing after being arrested last week for allegedly breaching one of her bail conditions.
Daughter of Toronto Blue Jays coach killed in 'terrible accident' while tubing in U.S.
The 17-year-old daughter of the Toronto Blue Jays' first base coach died in a 'terrible accident' while tubing in the U.S. this weekend.
Canadian officials denied access to trial of Chinese-Canadian billionaire, embassy says
Chinese authorities have blocked Canadian government representatives from attending the trial of Chinese-Canadian billionaire Xiao Jianhua, the Canadian embassy said on Tuesday.
Former Sask. premier Brad Wall gave strategic advice to key convoy organizer
Former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall was in contact with a key organizer of the Freedom Convoy anti-mandate protest, providing strategic advice before and after the Ottawa occupation began, according to court records obtained by CTV News.
'It's the real deal': Doctors warn about future wave fuelled by Omicron variants
COVID-19 cases are rising again in Canada, with the two fast-spreading Omicron sub-variants known as BA.4 and BA.5 to blame. CTVNews.ca has a guide to what you need to know about the new variants.
Saanich, B.C. bank shooter was rejected by military, CAF says
One of the twin brothers who was killed in a shootout with police outside a bank in Saanich, B.C., last week had applied to join the Canadian Armed Forces but was rejected, a military spokesperson confirmed Monday.
Police find person of interest in deadly shooting at Chicago-area parade
Highland Park's police chief said the 22-year-old man identified as a person of interest in the shooting that killed at least six people, wounded at least 30 and sent hundreds of people fleeing from an Independence Day parade in suburban Chicago on Monday has been taken into custody.
U.S. man to be charged with kidnapping, rape after Edmonton teen found: Oregon police
A 41-year-old man will be charged with kidnapping and rape after an Edmonton girl who was missing for more than a week was found, Oregon City Police said.