Sale of solid forest products: “This will further worry the political class”

According to some elected officials, the confirmation of Resolute Forest Products’ purchase offer in the hands of a foreign company is not enough concern for the political class.

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This was argued by Mario Simard, Bloc Québécois critic for Intergovernmental Affairs, Natural Resources and Energy.

“It is [Papier Excellence] An Indonesian company whose shareholders are Chinese. It should be on everyone’s mind; You only have to think about the sale of agricultural land that has worried the political class. I think the Quebec forest body, it should be more concerned with the political class, “said Mr. Simard.

However, the company Papers Excellence describes itself as a Canadian company based in British Columbia.

“You should know that the majority shareholder of Papier Excellence is Pulp & Paper, so the body of Quebec Forest will now be in the hands of a company that does most of its business in China,” noted Mr. Simard.

Resolute Forest Products manufactures kraft pulp, which is used exclusively to make sanitary products. Many players in the forest department are now worried about the fear of shortage.

“People in the forestry sector told me that Pulp & Paper’s interest is mainly in kraft pulp because of the shortage in China. Now, what the pandemic has taught us is that it is to our advantage to have very short production chains. This is a legitimate fear expressed by many players in the forestry sector, with the impact of kraft pulp We can see chaos with the sale of sustainable forest products in the sector,” deplores Mr. Simard.

Watch Mario Simard’s interview in the video above.