HOWE SOUND B.C.—  Domtar announced that 400 employees at the Howe Sound Pulp and Paper Mill and Bayview Fibre Chipping facilities were notified about the “indefinite idling of operations,” citing persistent low prices for pulp on the international market, low demand from Asia, and “a decline in affordable domestic fibre.” Several workers described the mill as being a modern and efficient facility, and Domtar said it’s invested $500 million in upgrading it since acquiring the complex in 2010. For the past several years, the forestry sector has been limping along. Four mills have shuttered in British Columbia in the last year, and the B.C. Council of Forest Industries (COFI) counts at least 21 mills closed indefinitely or permanently since 2023. Four or five years ago there were record profits being made and companies did not pivot, nor did they become efficient. The tariff battle with the U.S. was playing a role in destabilizing the industry. Paper Excellence bought out Domtar and Resolute Forest Products (MacMillan Bloedel, Crown Zellerbach) in 2021.