FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Release – November 30th  2007

P.A. Mill Announcement is a Tragedy

“The citizens of Prince Albert must feel such a sense of betrayal today upon hearing the news that Brad Wall has scuttled the agreement to reopen the Mill.” Don MacNeil, Vice President for the Communications Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada said today

The union was informed by Domtar this afternoon that the government’s action gives them no option but to withdraw from efforts to negotiate a new collective agreement and that they are not prepared to continue in their efforts to reopen the mill.

The company and the union were optimistic that once the election was over and the new government had a chance to take a close look at the memorandum of understanding, that they would rethink their position on it.

MacNeil went on to say “It saddens me to hear this news. There was so much hard work done by the previous government, the Forestry task Force, the community, the union and the company. We worked from day one to get this mill reopened. Getting the mill up and running was a huge part of the plan to renew the forestry industry in Saskatchewan. This is a real blow to scores of northern communities as well as the City of Prince Albert.”

 CEP is a broad based trade union representing 150,000 workers in a wide variety of industries across Canada.  In Saskatchewan the 10,000 CEP members work in the printing sector, the pulp and paper industry, the IT sector, trucking, the petro-chemical industry, potash mines,  the television industry and at SaskTel, SaskPower, SaskEnergy and other Crown Corporations.

For more information please contact:

2365, 13th Avenue, Regina, Saskatchewan S4P 0V8