FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, DEC. 5, 2025, VANCOUVER BC – CentreBC is calling for urgent provincial leadership after the December 2nd announcement that the Crofton Pulp Mill will close permanently, eliminating approximately 350 jobs and delivering a devastating blow to families and businesses across the Cowichan Valley. The company cited poor global pulp prices and lack of access to affordable fibre in BC as the principal reasons for the shutdown — the latest in a growing pattern of mill closures and curtailments across British Columbia.
“This is more than a mill closure — it’s a breaking point for hundreds of families and small businesses, for Crofton, and for communities up and down the Island,” said Karin Kirkpatrick, Leader of CentreBC. “Workers should not be paying the price for a provincial forestry system that has become unpredictable, uncompetitive, and unaligned: the paper mills are out of markets and supply, the timber companies are out of economically accessible wood, and this government is out of ideas,” Kirkpatrick concluded.
CentreBC strongly agrees that these issues fall within provincial control — and require immediate, decisive action.
CentreBC’s Call to Government: Families First, Communities First, Action Now
1. Immediate Support for Workers and Families
- Bridge income supports for affected workers
- Rapid-response retraining and apprenticeship pathways
- Mental-health, financial, and career-transition services
2. Stabilize and Reform BC’s Forestry Framework
- Deliver predictable, sustainable fibre supply through tenure modernization
- Streamline cutting permits, road-building approvals, and regulatory processes
- Modernize stumpage, reduce uncertainty, and reward value-added innovation
3. Strengthen Community and First Nations Partnerships
- Co-develop land-use plans and revenue-sharing agreements
- Empower local communities with tools to diversify their economies
- Launch a Forestry Stability & Transition Fund to buffer against global price shocks
A Turning Point for B.C.’s Forestry Future
CentreBC will continue engaging with workers, unions, First Nations, business leaders, and community officials in the Cowichan Valley and across BC to advance a renewed provincial forestry strategy rooted in transparency, partnership, and innovation.
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Karin Kirkpatrick is available for interviews. For more information contact:
MEDIA CONTACT
Scott Williams
CentreBC
604-356-7606
[email protected]
