New Mill Increases Pressure on Alberta's Boreal Forest
3/1/97
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From Taiga-News 20 (March 1997)
NEW MILL EXPANSIONS INCREASES PRESSURE ON ALBERTAS BOREAL FOREST
The environmental nightmare in Alberta continues unabated as several new
major forestry projects have been announced for the province's northwest
region. Among the planned mill expansions is a proposed $900 million paper
mill by Daishowa Marubeni International. Daishowa's existing operations
(which include a huge bleach kraft pulp mill on the Peace River) in
Alberta are one of the targets of TRN's "Hot Spot" campaign.
Daishowa's proposed paper mill will use up to 15 percent of the pulp
produced at its Peace River pulp mill in producing 300,000 tonnes of
lightweight coated paper annually for export around the world. Lightweight
coated paper is used in throw-away products such as magazines, flyers and
catalogues. Daishowa, which must go through a public review process before
constructing the paper mill, expects to complete construction within the
next four years. Given the sordid history of the public review process in
Alberta, obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals should be
perfunctory for Daishowa.
Increase of cutting levels allowed
The Alberta government has agreed to supply Daishowa's paper mill with an
additional 400,000 cubic meters of wood from its existing Forest
Management Agreement (FMA). This translates into a 12 percent increase in
Daishowa's already unsustainable level of cut. In its continuing policy of
giving away Alberta's forests to transnational corporations, the
provincial government will charge Daishowa 1989 level stumpage fees for
the additional volume harvested.
96 percent of the province's timber is already allocated, but Alberta's
Environment Minister, Ty Lund, has promised that there will be enough
trees for Daishowa to clearcut for the next 200 years. It is no wonder
that the Sierra Club in the United States recently named Alberta as the
worst government in North America for protecting the environment.
There was a plethora of irrational statements from government bureaucrats
at the Daishowa announcement. The strangest came from Bill Smith, mayor of
Edmonton, who told the media that "Alberta's forests are in really great
hands with Daishowa."
In yet another display of the cynical statements he has become known for,
Daishowa VP Tom Hamaoka said the company "will continue to build upon its
current working relationships with aboriginal people in the region." There
was, of course, no mention of how the new paper mill will effect the
Lubicon Cree. In 1988 the Alberta government sold the rights to all the
trees from the Lubicon Cree's entire territory to Daishowa without
informing the Lubicons.
There are several other major projects being proposed for northwest
Alberta in addition to the Daishowa paper mill. In Grande Prairie, Grande
Alberta Paper Company is proposing a $900 million paper mill, Ainsworth
Lumber Company is opening a $140 million panelboard plant, and Canadian
Forest Products will be carrying out a $40 million expansion of its
sawmill. In High Level, Tolko Industries is constructing a $103 million
panelboard plant.
CHRIS GENOVALI,
TRN NORTH AMERICAN COORDINATOR