By Michael Reeve

'An eye opener for the government'

Kruger better positioned than most but hopes recent forestry struggles prompt action from government

Dec 5, 2025 | 4:30 PM

KAMLOOPS — Over the past four weeks, four forestry operations in British Columbia have announced they are shutting down. Most recently, it was the Domtar Crofton pulp mill on Vancouver Island announcing it will cease operation early next year, resulting in more than 300 job losses. In the statement Domtar made in closing the mill, the company cited the lack of fibre supply, an issue that has been echoed across the province. In Kamloops, the Kruger mill employs close to 350 people and is the largest industrial taxpayer to the city.

Rose-tinted glasses in British Columbia’s forestry sector have long since been lost, with companies and unions accepting the reality of a sector in crisis. Right square in the middle of that crisis is uncertainty of fibre supply.

“Our membership asks what are we worried about. That is the only thing I’m worried about,” said Wes Mitchell, Unifor Local B-10 first vice-president. “Right now, the company is putting quite a bit of money into the mill which is great. We like to see that, especially in these times, so that kind of calms us down a little bit. But (we’re) definitely not seeing fibre down the road. We would like to be able to see 10 years down the road that we still have it, or 20 years. If somebody is going to buy a house, we want to know they can pay it off here.”

The concerns from Mitchell are not unique, shared almost uniformly across industry. He’s had a chance to meet with government and believes action must start from the top.

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“Everything from the allowable cuts, speeding up permitting would be huge,” said Mitchell. “Even getting any pulpable logs out of the bush. We don’t want to see logs just burned in the bush or laying in a clear cut. Lots of ideas have been out there and we really hope this is an eye opener for the government and they speed up the processes.”

The Kruger pulp mill currently has about 50 days of fibre on its lots and the union feels the Kamloops location is better positioned than others. 

“I think we are better positioned than a lot of companies in the province. The company has done pretty well with thinking outside the box with fibre. I would like a little more longevity, a little better outlook long term, but I think we are sitting better than most other mills,” said Mitchell.

Kruger officials did provide an emailed statement to CFJC News, saying they are actively investing in their mill and seeking alternative solutions to secure fibre supply, calling on the government to make fibre more economically available for industry.