A worker moves wood at the Abitibi-Consolidated mill in Saint-Raymond, Que., in October, 2006.JACQUES BOISSINOT/The Canadian Press
The federal government is extending a $100-million loan to help a forest products company in Western Canada cope with tariffs and trade uncertainty.
Finance Canada says it’s offering the funds to Millar Western Forest Products, a company operating three pulp mills across Alberta and British Columbia, to help the company with near-term needs like rebuilding its log inventory.
Canada’s forest sector has been hit directly by steep U.S. tariffs but Finance Canada also says the domestic softwood lumber industry is struggling under the weight of global trade disputes.
Millar is primarily an exporter and employs some 420 workers and supports hundreds more through maintenance and consulting work.
U.S.-Canada lumber dispute is a ‘broken process,’ B.C. wood manufacturers say
Ottawa says the loan will help the company protect those jobs and adapt to changing market conditions.
Millar is one of just a handful of companies which have received money through Ottawa’s Large Enterprise Tariff Loan facility – a $10-billion fund that’s also helping Ontario’s Algoma Steel retool its products away from customers in the United States.
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article incorrectly identified the company receiving the loan as Millar Western Lumber. The company that received the loan is Millar Western Forest Products.