Roger - Harris,

AB - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Second ex-Liberal MLA makes plea

to create a special forestry zone

~ A SECOND former Liberal
_ MLA has joined the call for
a northwestern forestry spe-:

cial economic zone.
Bill Belsey,. who repre-
sented the North Coast rid-

sing from 2001-2005, said

the high cost of logging low

value northwestern forests is
_ hurting companies.

The first former Liberal

‘MLA to make the plea for |

_a zone to provided, financial

relief and ‘assistance was
who repre-
-sented the Skeena riding be-

~- tween 2001-2005. .
“He. was also, the minis
ter of state for forest opera-—

tions.
“It’s something we have

been pushing for some time.
‘A lot of our pricing is done
based on a market that’s riot
reflective of the area’s [tim-
ber] profile and then there’s °
the added cost to get the fi-
ber to market,” Belsey said .
in speaking to the Prince Ru-
(pert Daily News. .

“A special “economic
zone would be a huge bene-
fit to the entire region,” said

’ Belsey. .

A higher Canadian dollar"

. than several years ago, which —
makes lumber more expen-’

sive in: the United ; States
and the continuing softwood
lumber tariff are also factors
affecting, the forestry base in

the northwest.

Mill sale pursued —

THE TERRACE LUMBER company is talking to a so-far-
. unnamed group of investors about purchasing its closed mill,
says company president John Ryan.
~ * Ryan said the. group has toured the mill but that he is:
, unaware of what kind of decision- making timeline it might
“have. °
“TRS really up ‘to them,” said Ryan late last week. “J really
' have no idea.”

- 4: Ryan did say that having interested purchasers is good — ,
_ news for the mill which closed the end of June when it ran’

out of money.
. “There’s a long way from start to finish. Ikeep reminding
: people this is a marathon, not’a sprint,” he said.
~ The people, all from B.C., already operate several mills.
Ryan said the group would buy the mill outright, if a deal. .
came together, and not be a partner in the operation.
Ryan and other local investors-bought the mill_in early.
2005, just hours before it was to be sold in pieces at auction
when then-owners New Skeena Forest Products couldn’t
. come up with financing.:It had:been closed since 2001 when '
previous owner Skeena Cellulose went under. —
. The newly-renamed Terrace Lumber Company opened’ a.
fe ‘year’ ago. but closed this June. when lumber prices dropped
- at and the’ Canadian dollar’s value went up. It had been operat- .

Belsey also said the-clo-
sure here of’ the Terrace
Lumber Company (TLC)
could be a problem for the
Chinese-owned Sun Wave
Forest Products. .company
which has just bought. the
also-closed, Prince Rupert
pulp mill.

Sun Wave had been
' banking on thé TLC mill

as a source of chips for the
pulp mill, said Belsey who
has been hired to oversee the
pulp mill location's current
day to day activities... —
““The sources of fibre that
can be found in the area are
generally decadent,” said

’ Belsey, pointing to the high

content of pulp in the timber
. profile.
“Historically, you need

both a’ sawmill and pulp mill °
‘to make both industries fea-.

sible. When you lose one, it
makes ‘it difficult to run the
other.”

In years past, the Prince

_ Rupert pulp mill and the

Terrace sawmill were. part
of one company structure.

Its most recent name was -
- Skeena Cellulose which first 3

ran into’trouble in 1997 and
again in 2001, eventually
leading to bankruptcy.

The: assets were then.
purchased by New Skeena~

Forest Products but it went

, under three years later after -
_ failing to find financing. ,

Since then the assets, in-
cluding forest licences, have

been sold off to various com-

panies and native groups.
To date, attempts © by

those parties to recreate a--

co-operative business model

of some sort have failed.

it you ‘have not returned
Your census form, call: _

594-2

- Bill Belsey -

Talks between Sun Wave
and the TLC, for instance, .
for the former to buy the lat-.

ter have so far proved fruit-

» Jess...

CENSUS

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