SOUTH BROOK, N.L. — More than two weeks after Corner Brook Pulp and Paper officials told Sterling Fowlow they would not renew his company’s woodland contract, the South Brook man says he is feeling even worse.
Arthur Fowlow Ltd. was informed of the decision during a meeting in Corner Brook April 10. The company had been working with Corner Brook Pulp and Paper and its predecessor, Bowater Newfoundland, since 1974.
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Corner Brook Pulp and Paper cuts ties with South Brook harvesting contractor
Without a replacement contract to cut and sell wood, their immediate thought was to sell off all their equipment and/or even declare bankruptcy. Nothing has happened in the subsequent weeks to provide any hope, according to Fowlow.
“There’s not much else I can do,” he said. “The gear we got is for cutting wood and they have no wood for us to cut, and there is nowhere else to go to cut any wood.”
Fowlow has discussed the situation with Brian Warr, MHA for Baie Verte-Green Bay, and Fisheries and Land Resources Minister Gerry Byrne. Out of that, the owner is certain there is little to no hope of a future for the company started by his father.
“I am feeling worse actually,” he said. “Knowing what I have to do with all this gear here, and what those guys over there (Corner Brook Pulp and Paper) is able to do to you — put you in bankruptcy.”
He said Corner Brook Pulp and Paper officials — who issued a prepared statement following the decision, noting they would not comment any further on it — have not made any contact with him since. The pulp and paper company reported the decision will improve the competitiveness and efficiency of its woodland operations. The strategic initiative reduces its wood procurement costs, which it reports as the highest in North America.
The day Fowlow spoke to The Nor’wester, he was having his equipment appraised.
“It is gone beyond (discouraging),” he said.
Fowlow is a union woodland employee who maintains his right to keep working for another contractor of Corner Brook Pulp and Paper.
“I’ll have to,” he said. “I have to survive.”
It won’t be an easy situation for the business owner.
“It is going to be hard to swallow,” he said. “I don’t know what will come out of it, but it will be hard to glutch.”
Warr said he was disappointed in the decision, but also in the way it happened. The MHA questioned why the cuts couldn’t have been made across all contractors rather than severing ties with one company. He also thought there should be a restructuring time granted to the company.
He met with Byrne to discuss the situation, but Warr acknowledged uncertainty of what government could do.
There were 24 woodland jobs affected by the decision, some working with Arthur Fowlow will have bumping rights. However, he said the impact to the district is significant.
Warr said he had a letter outlining his displeasure ready to send to Corner Brook Pulp and Paper.
“That is a huge blow to that company and a huge blow to the people who work for them,” he said. “We don’t want to see anybody lose their jobs, let alone lose a business like Art Fowlow who put nearly 50 years of service into that industry.”
As an MHA, he said he would not take this decision “lying down,” and will see what he can do to fight for them.
The Nor’wester also reached out to Byrne for comment, but he was not available as of deadline.
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Corner Brook Pulp and Paper cuts ties with South Brook harvesting contractor
