B.C. lumber company planning to buy Sask. mills

Last Updated: Friday, November 3, 2006 | 1:31 PM ET

CBC News

Hope is alive that 300 jobs in Saskatchewan's lumber industry can be saved.

Weyerhaeuser announced a month ago it would close mills in Carrot River and Hudson Bay due to unfavourable market conditions, with layoffs to take place in January.

Until this week's announcement, the Carrot River sawmill was expected to close in January.
(John Hughes/CBC)

Now a B.C. lumber company, C&C Wood Products, has signed a letter of intent to purchase the mills.

Hudson Bay town administrator Rick Dolezsar says he's looking forward to meeting with people from the company to talk about their plans for the future operations of the mill.

"We're just in the process of contacting what we hope will be our newest corporate citizen and welcoming them to the community," Dolezsar said.

People in Carrot River are also happy a deal may be on the horizon.

Randy Holmen, who has worked at the mill for 17 years, said he's looking forward to a change of owners.

"I think the majority of the people out there are really fed up with Weyerhaeuser doing nothing but taking and not putting anything back into this mill in this community here," he said. "I think it would be good owned by Canadians again."

Weyerhaeuser is based in Washington state.

Terms of the agreement between Weyerhaeuser and C&C were not immediately disclosed.

Saskatchewan's forestry industry has been in a tailspin in the past year with the closure of Weyerhaeuser's gigantic pulp and paper operation in Prince Albert.

A government report said about 4,000 jobs were lost both directly and indirectly around Saskatchewan in the aftermath of the Prince Albert shutdown.