While there isn’t any line in the provincial budget that offers financial assistance to Corner Brook Pulp and Paper, Finance Minister Tom Osborne says the government will do what it can to help the mill.
Osborne was in the west coast city Wednesday for a luncheon hosted by the Greater Corner Brook Board of Trade. While much of his speech to those in attendance focused on details of the government’s latest spending plan, he briefly mentioned the paper company’s situation.
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The mill is facing two levies the American government is considering slapping on newsprint and softwood products imported from Canada that could cost the paper company millions of dollars.
Osborne said Premier Dwight Ball, along with Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady and two cabinet ministers from western Newfoundland — Municipal Affairs and Environment Minister Eddie Joyce and Fisheries and Land Resources Minister Gerry Byrne — have been working on the issue.
He said Ball has not only been working with Corner Brook Pulp and Paper and its parent company, Kruger, but also with the Canadian government and officials in the United States to ensure the continued viability of the mill and the province’s forestry industry.
“We’re going to find a way to make sure Corner Brook Pulp and Paper is OK,” Osborne said.
While he is not directly involved in the issue, Osborne said after his address to the board of trade that there is not much more than advocacy that can be done at this stage.
One of the American levies is aimed at companies that have received financial assistance from government. That makes stepping in with more financial aid to offset any blow to the mill less likely, as it could be perceived as giving the mill a further unfair advantage in the marketplace.
“We’re going to see what we can do to mitigate the issue,” Osborne said in an interview. “We haven’t gotten into whether or not there are financial issues at play. We’re working the diplomatic, political and trade issues at this moment.”