Quebec vows to help forestry workers

The Quebec government is reassuring the province's fragile forestry industry that financial help is on the way,as critics accuse the Liberals ofwaiting too long to prevent the crisis.

More sawmill closures were announced Wednesday as Montreal-based Domtar confirmed itwill shutdownthree mills in Quebec's northwestern Abitibi-Tmiscamingue region, erasing about 700 jobs in the region. Domtar is also closing a mill in Nairn, Ont., near Sudbury.

More than 10,000 jobs have disappeared from the forestry sector in the last year and a half as the strong Canadian dollar, rising energy costs, and plummeting softwood prices hurt the industry.

After emerging from his caucus meeting in Longueuil late Wednesday, Quebec Premier Jean Charestsaid the current crisis is the worst ever in the province's forestry history. But Charest insisted it's a temporary storm, and the first priority is to assist workers.

"In a lot of cases we are dealing with individuals who have worked in the industry their whole lives and may not have a lot of formal education and for whom getting into a new job is difficult," Charest said.

Measures to help retrain forestry workers are on the way as part of an emergency aid package being finalized by the Quebec government.

The package,to be announced in mid-October,will also include financial assistance for municipalities and forest product companies, said Raymond Bachand, Quebec's economic development minister.

But critics accuse the government of ignoring problems in the industry, despite repeated warnings.

Parti Qubcois Leader Andr Boisclair said since taking office, the Quebec Liberals have sat back and let the forestry sector drive itself into a corner.

The Quebec Forestry Industry Council said a $335 million restructuring plan it submitted in December 2005 could have prevented these latest sawmill closures.

Among the plan's 500 recommendations were:

• The government should absorb the costof certain responsibilities such as the maintenance of rural rail tracks and forest fire fighting, expenses that are currently paid for bypulp and paper companies.
• The government should subsidize the cost of raw materials such as wood fibre.

Council adviser Jacques Gauvin said he hopes to see some of these recommendations in the government's aid plan, otherwise more towns may suffer as companies protect their bottom line by targeting moreunprofitable mills.

"If we let just the market pressures do that consolidation, it's just going to hurt people in the regions. So the government has to soften if you want the process of consolidation."

The Quebec Federation of Municipalities is also calling on the government to create a crisis management group to counseltowns and cities that have lost their biggest employer with the sawmill closures.