EE ae
Noranda buys Normick Perron

by Claire Dansereau

Noranda Forest Inc. has success-
fully purchased Normick Perron.

Both companies own_processing
facilities in Northern Quebec and
Ontario. The danger in this purchase
is that Noranda appears to be not so
much interested in the current North-
ern Ontario processing facilities but
mates in the timber supplies attached

it.

The concern with this reality is that
Ontario has no legislation which pro-
hibits a company from exporting the
logs from one province to another.
This means that the workers in both
Woodland divisions and the process-
ing facilities need to keep an eye on
where the logs are going once they are
cut down.

Workers in both sectors need to
keep a close eye on the relationship
between what is cut and what is actu-
ally processed. Accounting proce-
dures should be open to workers to
make sure that this happens. Should
layoffs begin due to any mention of
insufficient supply it is essential that
we know what is going on.

The purchase of Normick Perron by
Noranda involved approval of a busi-
ness plan by the Ontario Ministry of
Natural Resources. There is an antici-
pation by the government that the
company will have to talk to affected
labour organizations at some stage in
the writing of the business plan.

Prior to the issuance of a license to
cut the trees a five-year management
and work plan (MWP) is required.

Noranda Achéte
Normick Perron

par Claire Danserau

Noranda Forest Inc. a réussi a
acheter toutes les actions de la com-

pagnie Normick Perron. ‘

Les deux compagnies possédent
des usines a pates et papier en Ontario
et au Québec et on dit que Noranda
a fait l’achat pour se procurer le bois de
Normick. La scierie ne l’intéresse pas
beaucoup. II faut donc que les travail-
leurs surveillent de trés prés les ac-
tions du nouveau propriétaire.

LOntario n’a pas de loi quiempéche
Yexportation de bois entre les prov-
inces ou au dehors du Canada. Donc,

on doit trouver un systéme pour savoir
si le besoin Ontarien est travailler en
Ontario. Un systéme de comptabilite
doit exister qui permettrait aux
travailleurs de surveiller le vas-et-
viens du bois Ontarien.

Il est important de developper ce
systéme parce qu'il faut que nous
sachions la vérité si la compagnie
nous dit que les usines doivent étre
fermer pour manque de bois.

En Ontario, suite aux ventes de
compagnies et avant que le gouverne-

ment issue une license pour couper le
bois, il faut que la compagnie produise
un plan d’affaires. Souvent, dans la
préparation de ces plans, les com-
pagnies entrent en consultation avec
le syndicat. Noranda n’a pas consulté
IWA-CANADA mais au moins on
devrait pouvoir se procurer le plan

pour savoir exactement que sont les
intentions de la compagnie vis-a-vis
la scierie et le bois du nord de
l'Ontario.

Aussi, la compagnie doit preparer
un plan d’aménagement. Ce document
doit nous étre disponsible pour que
nous puissiont surveiller les actions
de la compagnie.

Bien que la vente de Normick a été
faite 4 James McLaren Industries,
Inc. c’est vraiment Noranda, une
compagnie multi-nationale, qui va
faire les décisions. McLaren est une
compagnie subsidiare 4 Noranda.

McLaren a une usine de pates et
papier a Thurso et Masson au Québec.
On dit que la production dans ces
deux usines va augmenté aussitét
qu’ils auront accés au bois d’Ontario.
Les résidues Ontariens sont pré-
sentement vendu ailleurs mais aussi-
t6t que les contrats seront finis ils ne
seront pas renouvellés. Pourvus que
la compagnie fasse seulement l’ex-
portation des résidues nous sommes
d’accord avec cette action.

Nous devons aussi surveiller de trés
prés l’utilization du bois. Avec
Taugmentation de production de pates
et papier il faut que nous soyons
certains que le bois de qualité
suffisante pour la scierie ne se trouve
pas dans les machoires de la machine
a pates et papier.

© Local 1-80 Business Agent Ken McEwan (I.) is presented an Award of Honour
from Bjorn Simonsen, president of the B.C. Heritage Society. The award
recognizes Brother McEwan's “significant contribution to heritage preservation
and documentation in the Cowichan and Chemainus Valley region.” Brother
McEwan was also honoured for his membership on the board of the B.C. Forest
Museum, his activities as an archivist for the IWA and his chairmanship of the

“Heritage Experience Committee.”

Traditionally, MWP’s address issues
of reforestation, amount that will be
cut and over what period of time.
Workers must receive a copy of the
management plan prior to its approval
by the Ministry to ensure that it is
fully briefed on what to expect once
the company actually takes over from
Normick Perron.

Although the name James McLaren
Industries Inc. will be heard much
through these talks there is no cause
for confusion because it is a subsid-
iary of Noranda Forest Inc.

_ McLaren has pulp and paper facili-
ties in Thurso and Masson, Quebec.
It is anticipated that production will
increase in these mills once it has
secured the timber supply of North-
ern Ontario. Currently, the wood chips

from this timber supply are tied up in
contracts but it is expected that these
will not be renewed. As long as the
company is only planning on export-
ing the chips we will not object.

So the point is we have to be very
careful that somebody stays in con-
tact with the government and with
the company. We cannot be taken by
surprise later when the company cries
that there is not enough timber sup-
ply to keep Ontario operations going.

Another area that we have to wat!
carefully is that of utilization stan-
dards. We cannot allow good sawmill
logs to be used in pulp mills in Ontario
and Quebec.

Just because a company is guaran-
teed a large timber supply does not
mean that the people stop watching
carefully what happens to that supply.

sy
ia
a

SVENSKA
URAINDUSTRIARBE TART
FORBUNDET

° Sweden's Social-Democrat Prime Minister Ingvar Carlsson greeting the Swedish
Wood Industry Workers’ Association on the occasion of their 100-year anniversary.

Swedish labour
(continued from page 11)

e Further improving its own or-
ganization.

But one of the reasons that the
Swedish labour movement is so well-
known throughout the world is that
they are so active on the international
scene — as the Canadian movement.
should be, but is not. For example,
Bertil Jonsson, the Woodworkers’
President is also President of the
1.C.F.T.U.’s Building and Wood Work-
ers’ Section, to which IWA-CANADA
belongs, and the Swedes are known in
poor countries throughout the world
as the people who will help.

Some of the attributes of the Swe-
dish labour movement would be hard
to duplicate in Canada. Although
every worker's “Club” has an impor-
tant role to play in settling local
issues, and in the very active role that
the movement plays in Swedish poli-
tics, major decisions are made in a
very centralized way.

But it is without a doubt the most
effective labour movement in the
world.

When the Woodworkers’ Union had
its one hundredth anniversary cere-
monies, Prime Minister Carlsson
showed up on each of the three days,
along with several of the country’s
leading show business people.

Their effectiveness is perhaps best
illustrated by an anecdote:

We were seated in a small Swedish
hotel room in Falun, a city about the
size of Prince George, north of Stock-

holm, talking to Inge Johansson, a
senior staff officer of the Swedish
Forest Workers’ Union, the organiza-
tion that represents loggers and silvi-
cultural workers (in general, they are
the same people.)

One of the employers in our grow
of Canadians said “I envy Swedish
employers. Swedish unions seem so
reasonable, easy to get along with.”

“Well,” said Inge, “You must under-
stand that the situation of the Swe-
dish employer is rather different than
that of his North American counter-
part. You see, we in the Swedish lab-
our movement do try to be reason-
able, as you say, we do try to negotiate
agreements that are acceptable to all
parties.

“But to understand our situation,
you must understand that we in the
Swedish labour movement work very
closely with the Social Demog¢rat
government. Very closely. So if we fail
to negotiate a matter that is vital to
us with the employer, we go to Stock-
holm to the government, and we say
“We must have a law’.

“For example, we are now in central
negotiations seeking to get the
employers, central to agree that every-
one should have six weeks vacation
instead of five. But it doesn’t really
matter if they agree, because if they
don’t we will have it by law this fall.”

“So you see;’ concluded Inge, “‘I'he
situation is different.” As one member
of the Canadian labour movement, I
wish it were not so different.

— CLAY PERRY

ST
12/LUMBERWORKER/SEPTEMBER, 1989