Rapides mill to remain operational for now, situation under review

Rapides mill to remain operational for now, situation under review

Following the announcement last month that the Commonwealth Plywood mill in Rapides-des-Joachims was going to lay off its 23 employees effective December 19, a company representative has clarified that they will remain open for now, but the situation is precarious.

In an email to CHIP 101.9, the company’s Vice-President of Forestry Joël Quévillon specified that they had issued a layoff notice eight weeks before the deadline because they were legally obligated to, however the decision of when to cease operations has yet to be made.

“The employees were informed that we would work to push back this date and that is what we did,” he wrote in French. “At the time of issuing the letter, we were in uncertainty and therefore we legally had to notify the employees.”

He added that operations would continue for now and they would be reviewing the situation month by month.

In a statement on social media, Pontiac Warden Jane Toller wrote that she had attended the Rapides-des-Joachims council meeting December 12 and heard the “great news”.

“I will continue to fight for the restoration of their original cutting rights and the funding for the forestry roads program,” she wrote, referencing some of the reasons that the company previously offered when justifying the layoffs.