Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I, too, would like to thank the Committee on Industry, Science and Technology for inviting me to appear this afternoon to present the concerns of the Town of Dolbeau-Mistassini and the entire RCM of Maria-Chapdelaine regarding the closure of the AbitibiBowater paper mill.
As has already been stated, the RCM of Maria-Chapdelaine has the largest commercial forest in Quebec. Between 1927 and 2007, the year the plant became the new AbitibiBowater entity, we had an efficient paper mill located close to the resource, equipped with excellent technology and skilled workers.
In 1998, the Alliance company owned the mill. Equipment was modernized. I am referring to machine number 5, which produces a circular SCB paper, as we call it in our jargon, and machine number 2, which produces what is called book paper. There was also the addition of a cogeneration plant which produced steam and electricity. The idea was to bring down the energy costs Mr. Paterson referred to this morning. Without wanting to, those involved may actually have laid the foundations then for a future integrated forestry complex.
In Dolbeau, we had a pulp and paper unit, an energy unit and an entity that processed the sawmill's leftover wood. In Mistassini—between Dolbeau and Mistassini runs a small river—we had a sawmill for lumber, a planing unit where we produced chips and biomass residue that could then be used at the cogeneration plant. Throughout the non-organized areas—in other words, the large forest lands—we had logging operations.
In 2007, Abitibi-Consolidated and Bowater became the new entity known as AbitibiBowater. Two struggling companies were merged to create a new one which soon got into trouble as well. Everyone knew that and had predicted it. We know what happened next. This morning we were discussing the trade dispute with the Boralex group, the confirmed financial problems, the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and, finally, the permanent closure announced on August 24.
Prior to these events, we had a profitable paper mill and enviable facilities from any standpoint. The mill was turning a profit despite a difficult economic climate. The Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act had the effect of weakening the Boralex's cogeneration plant. That was when they began breaking up what we had and what we were so proud of—namely, an integrated forestry complex.
For us, the future means again setting up a real integrated forestry complex, what we call in our jargon a “fibre maximization centre”—in other words, a complex that meets the expectations of the Government of Quebec as well as those of the forestry community and the industry. In order to meet economic, social and environmental requirements, the following conditions must be met: the right type of wood and the right use, total processing of logs in these facilities, maximum job creation through different fibre processing units, and reduced environmental impacts by limiting transportation and transshipping. We are even talking about reduced deterioration of roads caused by hauling wood chips.
The ability to reposition ourselves as part of an integrated forestry complex rests essentially on the following: the proximity of forest lands; sawmills and pulp facilities which require little upgrading; an already established cogeneration plant interested in maintaining its operations—here I refer to Boralex—; skilled, well-trained workers such as the ones we were talking about before lunch; and a community prepared to invest in order to resume operations.
We want to create a complex that meets the expectations of industry, the Government of Quebec and even Mr. Paterson. Abitibi wants to move away from producing newsprint. That's not a problem in our area; we don't produce any. The facilities can be converted to produce new products; all the experts have told us that. And, as a community, we have invested close to $400,000 to identify potential solutions. Those studies will be released soon.
We are there, with a cogeneration plant and use of the biomass. So, everything is in place. We are saving on transportation, and we are even eligible for carbon credits. We even have a rail network that connects the Municipality of Dolbeau-Mistassini to the facilities at the Port of Saguenay. So, exports are facilitated. What we want to create in Dolbeau-Mistassini is what everyone would like to see: a viable, integrated forestry complex.