As Canada’s forestry industry comes under attack from the trade war with the United States, a Quebec paperboard manufacturer on the border with Ontario says it is closing, putting more than 400 people out of work. The RYAM industrial complex in Temiscaming, Que., will close in September, officials announced Thursday. The facility is located about 45 minutes east of North Bay, Ont., and is the largest employer in the community of 2,500. It has operated for nearly a century. Temiscaming Mayor Alain Gauthier worked at the plant for more than 20 years and served as the general manager a decade ago when 900 people were employed there. “It’s the nature of the beast. I’m used to it — it’s not our first barbecue,” Gauthier said. “Normally, we control it. The unknown part is that it’s the first time where it’s an economic shutdown where we don’t control nothing. We want to control the inventory to our customers and (the) price of raw materials.” In a news release, RYAM spokesperson Alexandre Boucher said operations will shut down Sept. 15. “The duration of this shutdown remains undetermined,” Boucher said. “The shutdown will affect all site operations, with the exception of the wastewater treatment plant and Boiler No. 4, which will continue to operate.” The company said business has become unsustainable with 50 per cent tariffs targeting the Canadian forest industry. Gauthier said the tariffs are a “nuclear bomb” for sectors that rely on U.S. markets. “It’s an economic war,” he said. “We plan for every option. We’re not naïve. For the short-term, we need a bridge to get across that river.” About 425 unionized and non-unionized workers — half from Ontario and half from Quebec — will be affected by the closure. “We do not even have an agreement that if the tariff solution would be fixed, then they will reopen. They said they could revisit the decision,” said Unifor Quebec director Daniel Cloutier. “We’re afraid we’re going to lose people amongst it, which is going to create another problem if we have to reopen at some point.” The plant produces high-purity cellulose used in products like construction materials, food and pharmaceutical products, high-yield pulp, and coated paperboard from renewable resources. It produces 150,000 tonnes annually, with 30 per cent dedicated to specialty cellulose materials. Unifor said Canada holds “a 20 per cent market share,” while most of the rest of the products are shipped to the United States. “We’ve seen consolidation of the pulp and paper sector really across North America,” said Ian Dunn, CEO of the Ontario Forest Industries Association. “The competitiveness of the pulp and paper sector needs to be a focus of the federal government and of the provincial governments.” RYAM is headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla. It acquired the Quebec mill from Tembec in 2017. “We fully recognize the impact this decision will have on our employees, their families and the entire Temiscaming community, a single-industry region,” Boucher added. “We are committed to keeping them informed as the situation evolves and of the efforts we continue to pursue to create the conditions necessary for operations to resume.” Two years ago, 275 workers lost their jobs when the company closed the high-purity cellulose plant operations for a few months. At the time, RYAM cited sluggish sales and market conditions. There are major concerns now about how the current closure will affect the forestry sector in Ontario and Quebec. Dave Plourde, president of the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities, said chips from sawmills and wood-processing mills flow into the RYAM plant. “It’s a bump in the road, certainly,” Plourde said. “It just goes to show you that pain that they’re feeling in Quebec is affecting northern Ontario.” FONOM is encouraging the federal and provincial governments to work urgently with RYAM, the union, Temiscaming and regional partners “to identify solutions that could allow operations to resume.” Plourde suggested that FedNor and the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation help affected suppliers, businesses and communities on the Ontario side of the border. “There are many programs offered by both governments, but they must be coordinated, accessible and delivered quickly,” he said. “The priority must be supporting affected workers and businesses while doing everything possible to prevent a temporary shutdown from becoming permanent.” At least in the short term, this small border city faces unpredictable and difficult economic uncertainty. “It’s about how long that bridge is going to be and who’s going to build it with us,” Gauthier said.
