Premier Scott Moe announces increased timber allocation for new mill in Prince Albert
CBC
Premier Scott Moe announced Thursday that his government is increasing timber allocations to Saskatchewan-based company One Sky Forest Products, setting the stage for the company to open an oriented strand board (OSB) mill in Prince Albert.
The government has allocated nearly 1.2 million cubic metres of timber per year, an increase from the initial 845,000 cubic metres, to One Sky Forest Products.
"It's a very much a foundational step," Moe said.
Moe said the province plans to double the size of Saskatchewan's forestry sector by 2030, while supporting Indigenous participation in the economy.
One Sky plans to begin construction on the $500-million plant in 2025 and open it in 2027, creating an estimated 800 direct and indirect jobs.
"Many of these jobs will go to Indigenous and non-Indigenous people, and that's how we ensure all people benefit from the success," Moe said.
"We've waited a long time for this in this part of the province."
Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne said the city is 46 per cent Indigenous, on a path to 50 per cent, and welcomed this announcement.
"When I talk about forestry, I talk about careers, not jobs, careers. These are careers, because you get a job at the OSB plant, you'll be able to buy a house, buy a car, survive with your family," Dionne said, calling it a new day for the city.
"I encourage all the young people to make contacts."
Dionne said the mill will be within the city limits and will therefore pay Prince Albert taxes.
This newly allocated portion was initially assigned to an Indonesian company, Paper Excellence, for a pulp mill, but that project is no longer happening.
Moe said the pulp market is going down and the forestry industry is aligning to global needs.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
A suspended Moncton structural engineer faces more lawsuits alleging design flaws in buildings that require repair.
Sajjade Tugano has come a long way since he first set foot in Chibougamau, six hours north of Quebec City, in the depths of winter in November 2021.
A national mentor-based hockey organization that helps marginalized youth through the sport is paying tribute to one of its members and youngest coaches.
After months of asking the City of Saskatoon to do more to solve its homelessness crisis, advocate David Fineday took to the stand at city council Tuesday.
A community organization wants to breathe new life into a historic building in Regina.
Some Prince County residents are walking away with more answers after attending Tuesday night's public information session in Albany, P.E.I., on the Wejipek Wind Project.
After just a few months of using vape detectors in a couple of bathrooms, a B.C. high school principal says it's reduced vape use in those areas to basically zero.
Burlington MP Karina Gould gets boost from local young people after entering Liberal leadership race
A day after entering the Liberal leadership race, Burlington, Ont., MP and government House leader Karina Gould was cheered at a campaign launch party by local residents — including young people expressing hope the 37-year-old politician will represent their voices.
Anold Mulaisho was born intersex and wonders where they fit in, in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order for the United States to recognize only two sexes, male and female.
WARNING: This story contains references to suicide.
Subway service is down on Line 1 between Sheppard West and Lawrence West due to a broken power rail, the TTC said Wednesday morning.
A long-term care home in Toronto's Yorkville neighbourhood has cleared one more hurdle to add desperately needed beds to its property, a move that's been praised by housing advocates but opposed by locals concerned about the impact on the neighbourhood.
A Charlottetown resident is calling on the P.E.I. government to do more to protect homeowners after reading about a recent oil spill very similar to one on his Montague property 20 years ago, which he says ruined him financially.
WARNING: This story includes details of abuse.
Two years after Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly declared she was taking the unprecedented step of moving to confiscate millions of dollars from a sanctioned Russian oligarch with assets in Canada, the government has not actually begun the court process to forfeit the money, let alone to hand it over to Ukrainian reconstruction — and it may never happen.
Alberta business and oilpatch leaders are returning home from Washington this week after the U.S. presidential inauguration festivities — and gritting their teeth after a roller-coaster of emotions.
Youth workers in Toronto's Jane and Finch area are flipping the script on negative stereotypes about their communities with a new fundraising campaign that offers anti-bias training in exchange for donations to bolster their programming.
In a sudden move that came late Tuesday evening, city officials rolled out cots and temporarily opened a warm building in east London as frigid temperatures continued.