RICHMOND, BC, June 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Catalyst Paper (TSX:CTL) today
announced that its Snowflake recycle newsprint mill in northeast Arizona will
be idled for an additional 10 days in July as the black liquor tax rebate for
U.S. kraft mills impacts the mill's order book. This will bring Snowflake
curtailments in July to approximately 20 days with nearly 300 employees
affected by layoffs.
"The U.S. black liquor tax credit puts recycled paper mills at an enormous
competitive disadvantage," said Richard Garneau, Catalyst president and chief
executive officer.
"Snowflake makes an environmentally desirable paper product in an
environmentally friendly way, but cost-efficiency cannot overcome the subsidy
represented by the tax credit. It is ironic that the black liquor tax credit
arose from legislation that was supposed to help the environment and now
threatens the well-being of an environmentally focused enterprise," Mr.
Garneau said. "Snowflake is already operating at less than full capacity due
to the weak economy. A level playing field is critical to the future of this
mill."
Catalyst's Snowflake mill is a 100 per cent recycled newsprint manufacturing
operation and the second largest private employer in northeast Arizona. The
mill consumes more than 480,000 tons of recycled paper annually that would
otherwise end up in landfills.
Catalyst Paper manufactures diverse specialty printing papers, newsprint and
pulp. Its customers include retailers, publishers and commercial printers in
North America, Latin America, the Pacific Rim and Europe. With six mills
strategically located in British Columbia and Arizona, Catalyst has a combined
annual production capacity of 2.5 million tonnes. The company is headquartered
in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada and its common shares trade on the
Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol CTL.
SOURCE Catalyst Paper Corporation
Media: Lyn Brown, Vice-President, Corporate Relations, (604) 247-4713
