Nicolas Brodeur discusses Pontiac forestry industry 15 years after Smurfit-Stone closure

Nicolas Brodeur discusses Pontiac forestry industry 15 years after Smurfit-Stone closure

This month, the Pontiac region marks a bleak milestone with the 15th anniversary of the closure of the Smurfit-Stone mill in Litchfield, which was the area’s largest private employer at the time. The shuttering of the pulp mill in October 2008 resulted in the direct loss of more than 200 jobs and had a disastrous impact on the local forestry industry and the Pontiac as a whole.

At the MRC Pontiac council of mayors meeting on October 18, the President of the Pontiac Forest Products Producers Board Nicolas Brodeur used the occasion to speak to the council at length about the issues facing the private wood producers in the region.

Brodeur spoke with CHIP 101.9 at length after the meeting to discuss the impact of the region’s mills closing and the current state of the industry for private wood producers. He recalled the day when he got the news that Smurfit Stone was closing.

He said that the forestry industry is dominated by huge international conglomerates, which makes carving out a space for small organizations like his difficult. Also, in Quebec the government controls the vast majority of the wood going to mills, and Brodeur said that they make for tough competition.

The full interview with Brodeur (18m35) is available here.