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Investment in Crofton mill good for both air quality and economy: Siebring

Province investing $5.85 million for green projects
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North Cowichan mayor Al Siebring said the $5.85-million provincial investment into the Crofton mill is good both for the environment and the economy. (File photo)

North Cowichan Mayor Al Siebring said the announcement that the province is investing $5.85 million in green projects at Catalyst Paper’s mill in Crofton is good for the environment and the local economy.

Speaking to council on Feb. 2, Siebring said plans to use the funding from the CleanBC Industry Fund to improve the efficiency of the mill’s evaporation process and reduce natural gas use will, hopefully, work towards improving the Valley’s air quality.

RELATED STORY: CROFTON MILL GETS $5.85 MILLION FOR GREEN PROJECTS

“As we’ve repeatedly heard from Island Health, we have one the highest rates of [Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease] and other respiratory issues in the province and, while we certainly can’t attribute all of that to emissions from the mill, this should help in that respect,” he said. “The other positive for me about this announcement is that it demonstrates the province’s commitment to the long-term viability of, not just of this facility, but the industry in general.”

Siebring said he was in a conference late last month with a number of other mayors of communities with pulp mills and they talked to Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development Katrine Conroy about the need for provincial investment and strategies to help address the ongoing fibre shortage that the whole pulp industry is facing.

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“While I can’t get into the specifics of what the [industry] is asking for — that’s up to the industry to announce — I am heartened by this funding announcement,” he said. “I can’t imagine the province putting almost $6 million into the Crofton mill, and a combined $26 million into the industry as a whole, if it didn’t intend to follow up with further funding for the fibre-shortage file.”

As part of the CleanBC Industry Fund’s third round of investment, the province announced a number of successful projects in five pulp mills, four of which are owned by Paper Excellence, including the Crofton mill, and other projects in B.C. that will support the adoption of cleaner technologies and reduce emissions in sectors like pulp and paper, mining, oil and gas and others.

The projects at the Crofton mill are expected to reduce more than 289,000 tonnes of carbon emissions from the facility.



Robert Barron

About the Author: Robert Barron

Since 2016, I've had had the pleasure of working with our dedicated staff and community in the Cowichan Valley.
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