I was pleasantly surprised to hear the answer given by the president of the company. He said that if he is able to reach an agreement with Boralex, he might reopen the plant. I must say that Boralex was sold by that company for some $76 million. As I said earlier, all the contracts have been signed.
For the time being, according to Boralex's books, the plant is worth almost nothing, because the other company's monopoly is such that there won't be any bark. Boralex and ourselves are therefore in the same boat: we are dependent on AbitibiBowater. This is the first time I've heard that offer from Mr. Paterson. They have life or death control over the employees of both the paper mill and the cogeneration plant. I don't know exactly what kind of agreement there could be, but I think it is something well worth exploring.
The company president says that it is Boralex's fault. However, having seeing Boralex's private books, I can tell you that Boralex was making a profit of $10 million a year. When Bowater ended the contract, they said that from then on, bark or biomass would cost so much a tonne and steam would cost so much. According to its calculations, Boralex stood to lose $4 million a year. The company says it is willing to make an effort, but there is no logic to any of that.
Is this a tactic so that they will be forced to give it back, even though it was sold for $76 million? That may be the case.