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The Honourable Wayne Long, MP (Saint John—Kennebecasis)
Secretary of State
Canada Revenue Agency and Financial Institutions
RE: Opportunities at AV Group NB
Dear Secretary of State Long,
I am writing today to bring to your attention concerns around two forestry mills operating in the province of New Brunswick, employing Unifor members.
We represent workers at AV Group NB, in New Brunswick. Our members work at AV Group NB Nackawic (Unifor Local 219) and AV Group NB Atholville (Unifor Local 160), two mills that make dissolving grade pulp, which is processed for the manufacturing of viscose staple fibre for use in the textile industry.
Recently, our members in Nackawic and Atholville have been concerned about the future of the two mills. We have been in discussions with local management and with officials from the Government of New Brunswick. I have already written the owner of the mills, Kumar Mangalam Birla, Chairman of the Aditya Birla Group.
These two mills make up 70% of the sea-can exports that flow through the Port of Saint John, NB, and if they were to cease operations it would be a major blow to the port and to economic development in the region.
I am reaching out because our union has a great deal of experience and expertise in the forestry sector in Canada, and in the broader economy in general. As you can imagine, we are monitoring this situation very closely, and Unifor would appreciate meeting with you at any time to discuss our concerns and potential solutions to ensure the long-term viability for these mills and New Brunswick’s forestry industry in general.
Unifor is Canada’s largest private sector union, with more than 320,000 members across the country, working in every major sector of the Canadian economy. Unifor’s 24,000 forestry sector members work in a variety of forestry, logging, and firefighting occupations as well as wood product, bioenergy, and pulp and paper manufacturing facilities.
Unifor believes that there are a number of opportunities to stabilize operations and build a sustainable and prosperous future at AV Group NB Nackawic and AV Group NB Atholville. The mills have access to a high quality and plentiful fibre basket, we believe the Government of New Brunswick will be supportive of investment at the mills, and – most importantly – our members at those facilities are highly-skilled, motivated, and well-trained.
In addition, the federal government recently convened the Canadian Forest Sector Transformation Task Force, a group of industry experts and leaders appointed to provide recommendations for the transformation of Canada’s forestry sector. I was honoured to sit on that Task Force as a representative of our union.
The Task Force’s final report, which is available here, included recommendations to stabilize long-term access to cost-competitive fibre and create a government-backed capital fund to support facilities that undertake transformation. We believe the Government of Canada is committed to supporting the forestry sector in this country, and there will be new opportunities for investment, partnership, and financial support.
Our members at the mills in Nackawic and Atholville believe there are a number of opportunities worth exploring at their mills in addition to the production of dissolving pulp, ranging from xylitol production, other chemical production, bioenergy generation, and more. We respectfully suggest it would be helpful if all levels of government worked together, along with leadership from AV Cell NB and its ultimate parent company, Aditya Birla, as well as workers at the mills and their union, to develop a plan for the future there.
We believe there is a bright future ahead for AV Group NB Nackawic and AV Group NB Atholville, if all the stakeholders – including the federal government – work together to explore the potential opportunities in New Brunswick.
I am happy to meet to discuss these matters further with our team, including Atlantic Regional Director, Jennifer Murray. I’m available at any time if you have any questions or concerns.
Sincerely,
Lana Payne
National President
