Both Domtar and the National Capital Commission are denying that their potential land deal has anything to do with plant closures or job losses announced on Wednesday.

Domtar announced that it's shutting down two paper machines on Chaudière Island in the Ottawa River, eliminating 185 jobs.

Old E.B. Eddy plant on Chaudière Island
Old E.B. Eddy plant on Chaudière Island

The union at Domtar says the company wants to sell off its holdings on the islands in the Ottawa River near LeBreton Flats. It says the likely buyer is the National Capital Commission, which has a 50-year plan to use islands such as Victoria and Chaudière for high-end retail and residential development.

Luc Thibault has worked for Domtar for 10 years. He believes the new War Museum, near Chaudière Island, was a nail in the coffin for the island paper mill in the old E.B. Eddy plant.

"Me, when I saw them opening the museum two years ago, I said the end is coming, the end is coming."

Union representative Percy Robillard says many of Domtar's 185 Ottawa-based workers see a link between the closure on Chaudière Island and the plans of the National Capital Commission.

"We've heard rumours that the NCC have approached Domtar to buy the land. The comment was made in the past that 'we're interested in the land but not while the operation is running.'"

A Domtar vice-president, Ghislain Dinel, says the closures are driven only by a need to cut costs, and not by a land deal with the NCC.

"To the best of my knowledge, there is no such thing as a deal at the present moment," Dinel says. "Later on, if NCC is interested, we'll for sure listen to them."

But Thibault says he believes both Domtar and the NCC have a specific "later on" in mind right now.

A spokesperson for the NCC acknowledged that the commission has "a long-term interest" in the islands. But, she says, there was no immediate plan to make an offer.