B.C. grants timber licence in exchange for new mill in Fort St. James

TheB.C.government has approved the transfer of a forest licence to Fort St. James ForestProducts on the condition the company builds a new mill in the town that recently declared a financial crisis.

Forests Minister Doug Donaldson says he approved the transfer of the forest licence and associated road permits from Conifex Timber Inc. after determining it was in the public interest.

Donaldson saidin a statement the firm's parent company has committed to build a new mill in Fort St. James that will be in operation within 36 months of the closing the Conifex transaction.

Fort St. James Forest Products is a subsidiary of Hampton Lumber Mills.

Conifex shut down its sawmill in May and then sold the mill and timber rights to Hampton a month later in an agreement worth $39 million plus the log inventory.

In July, Fort St. James Mayor Bev Playfair declared the local state of financial crisis because the mill was the town's major employer and its closure devastated the community.

This is the first such approval under legislative changes to the Forest Act this spring that ensures companies engage with First Nations, workers and local governments before a tenure transfer would be considered by government.