Cedar Valley employee speaks to Valemount Council
By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG
Employees of Valemount-based sawmill Cedar Valley Holdings are still in limbo as the company anticipates an interruption in work – and possibly closing altogether – by the end of June. Owner Jason Alexander says the expected closure is due to difficulty in getting an adequate supply of cedar, and that the Valemount Community Forest board has not responded to his offers to purchase its cedar harvest.
Following the announcement of the possible closure in late April, Cedar Valley employee Simon Heiniger began circulating a petition calling for more transparency among the community forest board. The petition claims that the community forest has been sending cedar logs to pulp mills in Prince George, and asks that local manufacturing and milling is prioritized in future timber sales. The Goat has been unable to verify these claims with the community forest and Prince George-based pulp mills.
Heiniger presented his petition during the most recent Valemount Council meeting on May 27th. According to him, the online and print versions of the petition have a total of around 360 signatures. Council voted to receive the delegation but did not ask Heiniger follow-up questions.
In a follow-up interview with The Goat, Heiniger said he did not expect Council to respond to his petition during the delegation.
“I knew they weren’t going to do anything with [the petition] there. It was clear that I’m not supposed to ask any questions as a delegation,” he said of councillors’ reaction to his presentation.
Heiniger added that CAO Anne Yanciw has offered to discuss his concerns in an informal meeting with him, which he takes as an encouraging sign. While he said he understands that the Village will need time to decide on a course of action, he hopes for a quick resolution before the company has to lay off employees or temporarily stop work. According to him, it is highly likely that Cedar Valley will have an interruption in production towards the end of the month, though it may not close down permanently.
In a phone call with The Goat, VCF General Manager Alana Duncan said the organization cannot comment on the situation as legal proceedings are ongoing. During her report to the VCF board on May 28th, Duncan said the community forest has not yet resolved its conflict with Cedar Valley.
The Ministry of Forests has declined to comment on Heiniger’s petition, saying that it concerns a business-to-business relationship which the Province is not involved in.
The Goat will continue to follow this story as it unfolds.
