Tolko Industries Limited has told their employees in Quesnel yesterday (October 13) that they will be curtailing operations at their Quest Wood lumber mill effective immediately.

The decision is based on high log costs and poor market conditions according to an email from Donna Pincott, Tolko鈥檚 Manager of Communication.

鈥淥ver 100 employees are affected,鈥� she wrote, 鈥淎s you can imagine, we deeply regret the impact this will have on our employees and their families.鈥�

This number does not take into consideration indirect employees like logging contractors, so the total number could be much higher.

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鈥淢aintenance will continue to operate beyond the production curtailment date to ensure the mill is ready to resume future operations,鈥� Pincott added, 鈥淲e will monitor the situation to determine when we can resume operations.鈥�

Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson says he has been in touch with Tolko as well as the Minister of Forests and the local district manager and is looking to get more clarity from everyone.

鈥淚鈥檝e given him some things that we think need to advance,鈥� he says, 鈥� We have our Future of Forestry Think Tank process underway which is looking at how we stabilize the industry but in the interim I want to make sure the minister is working with his colleagues to make sure services are available to all those affected.鈥�

We hope to have more on this breaking story as it becomes available.

ronan.odoherty@quesnelobserver.com
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