Two communities in British Columbia are devastated by the decision to close their lumber mills resulting in about 500 job losses.
The specialty mills, operated by Slocan Forest Products Ltd in Valemount and Slocan, shut for an “indefinite” period on August 2 because of the effects of softwood duties imposed by the US.
Slocan’s president Jim Shepherd, who personally visited the communities to explain the decision, said because of the mills’ high-cost speciality status they had become a burden on the company as it tried to deal with the duties.
Leaders in the towns are worried about the economic fallout from the decision, with 10% of Valemount’s 1,200 population left without a job.
The mills have a combined annual production capability of 200 million board feet and make mainly dimension and speciality lumber, for markets including Japan.
