Eby says no to harvesting old-growth to extend life of B.C. pulp mill

The shuttering of a pulp mill on Vancouver Island will leave 350 people out of work but the premier says it’s “all hands on deck” to keep the doors open.

The British Columbia government is looking for ways to help a pulp mill closing on Vancouver Island, Premier David Eby said Wednesday, but logging the province’s old-growth forests for pulp is not an option.

Eby was scheduled to meet Wednesday with the head of the union representing the 350 Domtar workers who are set to lose their jobs, as well as the mayor of North Cowichan.

A team from the Ministry of Jobs will be going to the community of about 1,500 people to identify opportunities around retraining and employment, the premier said, adding the government was mulling ways to keep some jobs at the site.

“If there’s something else we can do, absolutely,” he told an unrelated news conference earlier Wednesday. “But the idea that we would pulp old growth in order to buy a little bit of time is not a solution we’re looking for.”

Eby said the province was looking for “long-term, sustainable solutions.”

Domtar announced the closure Tuesday, citing continued poor pricing for pulp and lack of access to affordable fibre as driving factors behind the closure.

Eby said there is seven million cubic meters of available fibre on Vancouver Island, but those forests aren’t being harvested because the costs of cutting them and moving the wood to a facility doesn’t make economic sense.

“I accept that there are key restrictions on harvesting old growth, cutting down old-growth trees, that have driven up the price and access to fibre on Vancouver Island. I believe this is a necessary decision,” the premier said.

“Pulping old growth is a temporary strategy at best, and we need a long-term strategy.”

In 2023, the provincial and federal governments announced a combined $18.8 million for the Crofton mill to aid in the production of water-resistant paper packaging to replace single-use plastics and create additional jobs.

Eby said Wednesday that “for various reasons, Domtar was unable to take advantage of that,” adding, “I don’t fault them for that.”

B.C. Conservative MLA Ward Starmer called the mill’s closure a “five-alarm dumpster fire” during question period in the legislature.

“The Crofton pulp mill has operated for almost 70 years, through thick and thin, good times and bad. And now it’s closing on this forests minister’s watch,” he said.

Starmer said four mills have closed in four weeks in B.C., while the province has the power to reduce administrative costs, approve permits faster and streamline access to fibre.

Forests Minister Ravi Parmar said news of the closure in Crofton was a “gut punch.”

The forest sector is facing significant challenges, including low pulp and lumber prices along with U.S. duties and tariffs, he said.

Parmar said the New Democrat government is committed to the workers in Crofton and every forestry worker across the province to “work together to stabilize this sector and to transform it so no worker is put in this position ever again.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 3, 2025.