Postal Service Disruption | Interruption des services postaux

Show more Show less

Government of Saskatchewan ministries, Crown corporations and organizations are working to minimize the impacts of the postal service disruption.

Les ministères, les sociétés d’État et les organismes du gouvernement de la Saskatchewan travaillent à réduire au minimum les répercussions de l’interruption des services postaux.

Language

Google Translate Disclaimer

A number of pages on the Government of Saskatchewan's website have been professionally translated in French. These translations are identified by a yellow box in the right or left rail that resembles the link below. The home page for French-language content on this site can be found at:

Renseignements en Français

Where an official translation is not available, Google™ Translate can be used. Google™ Translate is a free online language translation service that can translate text and web pages into different languages. Translations are made available to increase access to Government of Saskatchewan content for populations whose first language is not English.

Software-based translations do not approach the fluency of a native speaker or possess the skill of a professional translator. The translation should not be considered exact, and may include incorrect or offensive language. The Government of Saskatchewan does not warrant the accuracy, reliability or timeliness of any information translated by this system. Some files or items cannot be translated, including graphs, photos and other file formats such as portable document formats (PDFs).

Any person or entities that rely on information obtained from the system does so at his or her own risk. Government of Saskatchewan is not responsible for any damage or issues that may possibly result from using translated website content. If you have any questions about Google™ Translate, please visit: Google™ Translate FAQs.

CIC SELLS SASKFOR MACMILLAN INVESTMENT; CONSTRUCTION OF HUDSON BAY OSB MILL TO BEGIN IMMEDIATELY

Released on May 14, 1999

Deputy Premier and Crown Investments Corporation Minister

Dwain Lingenfelter and Craig Neeser, Senior Vice-President of

MacMillan Bloedel Ltd., announced today that MacMillan Bloedel will

purchase Saskatchewan's 50 per cent interest in Saskfor MacMillan for

$80 million and that it will immediately begin construction of a $180

million oriented strand board (OSB) mill in Hudson Bay.



"These two announcements are very good news for Saskatchewan's economy

and for the future of our forest industry," Lingenfelter said. "The

sale of our investment will bring a significant financial gain to the

province, while MacMillan Bloedel's commitment to build a new OSB mill

will increase economic activity and create hundreds of jobs for people

in the Hudson Bay area."



The OSB project will create 150 jobs at the mill, 300 woodland jobs

and 300 jobs during peak construction. In addition, it is anticipated

that hundreds of indirect jobs will be created as a result of this new

development. The mill will be located four kilometres south of Hudson

Bay. It will have the capacity to produce 570 million square feet of

3/8 inch OSB annually. The consistency and quality of OSB is making

it a popular replacement for plywood in North America.



MacMillan Bloedel will continue to operate the three mills that

had been owned by Saskfor MacMillan a plywood mill and an OSB

mill in Hudson Bay and a sawmill at Carrot River. They employ

about 400 people and provide another 250 woodland jobs.



"Our partnership with MacMillan Bloedel over the past four years

has been very rewarding," Lingenfelter said. "Our three mills

have provided hundreds of jobs for local people and numerous

spinoffs for local businesses. The partnership has also been

profitable, returning $8.2 million in dividends to the province.

The sale of our interest will result in a gain of about

$30 million and the repayment in full of an $11.7 million loan."



Saskfor MacMillan was formed in 1995 as an equal partnership

between the Province of Saskatchewan and MacMillan Bloedel Ltd.

Each party contributed $50 million in equity, with Saskatchewan's

contribution coming from the assets of the former Saskatchewan

Forest Products Corporation.



"We have had an excellent relationship with the Province and the

people of Saskatchewan and we hope to continue it through our

commitment to the existing mills and the new OSB mill," Neeser

said. "We are particularly excited about the prospects for our

new state-of-the-art mill. The fibre resource in the area is

among the best on the continent and there's a huge untapped

market for the quality products we will produce. We believe we

will have a long and rewarding future with the people of Hudson

Bay and area."



The new mill and associated forest operations as outlined in the

company's 20-year forest management plan were both subject to the

province's Environmental Impact Assessment process.



As well, an integrated land use plan with full public and

stakeholder involvement was completed by government last summer.



"This new OSB mill is an exciting example of how we will be doing

more manufacturing in Saskatchewan by applying technology and

innovation to create marketable products," Economic and

Co-operative Development Minister Janice MacKinnon said. "We are

making better and smarter use of our forestry resource to create

jobs and opportunities while still preserving our precious

forests."



The OSB project is part of $850 million of private sector

investment in the forest industry in Saskatchewan that will

result in the creation of as many as 10,000 direct and indirect

jobs over the next three years. Additional jobs are expected in

manufacturing, agro-forestry and research and development.



"We are pleased and proud that MacMillan Bloedel's new OSB mill

will be part of the major expansion that is occurring in our

forest industry," Lingenfelter said. "The benefits will be

enormous, not only to the people and businesses of northern

Saskatchewan, but to the economy of the entire province."



Construction of the new OSB mill will take about 14 months.

Commercial production is expected to begin in August, 2000.



- 30 -

For more information, contact:

Karen Schmidt

Crown Investments Corporation

Regina

Phone: (306) 787-5889



Steve Mitchell

MacMillan Bloedel Ltd.

Vancouver

Phone: (604) 661-8651

We need your feedback to improve saskatchewan.ca. Help us improve