The changes to the number of mills in the province is really based on the available fibre supply.
As most of the committee members are probably aware, we had a mountain pine beetle infestation go through the province back in the 1980s, 1990s and into the 2000s. It attacked a lot of the interior lodgepole pine—which is really the staple for a large part of the interior industry. We've had forest fires associated with that as well.
There was a decision back then to harvest timber before it deteriorated to the point at which it had no value, which I believe was the right decision to make. At some point we all knew there was going to be a day of reckoning.
By law, we have to be at a sustainable level, so you're cutting only what you have in growing stock and what's in standing timber. We knew that if we were overcutting to remove the damaged timber, someday there was going to be a reduction in that supply, and that someday is today.
What you're seeing is a rebalancing of mill capacity with the available fibre supply. A lot of mills are having to make the decision to shut down completely. Some have just curtailed production.
We quite often get asked the question, “Why haven't you shut down a mill?” and I say, “We have.” Those people then look at me with great surprise and say, “No, you have all of your mills running.” I say, “No, we've gone from three shifts to two shifts in three of our primary operations. That means we have shut down one mill.” It's the equivalency.
What you're seeing in the province is a lot of equivalency as well—total mill closures and equivalency.