Western Forest Products Inc. announced that the Company will not restart its Alberni-Pacific Division (APD) facility in its current configuration and has established a multi-party working group to explore potential viable industrial manufacturing solutions for the facility. The mill has been curtailed since fall 2022. In 2022, Western, Tsawak-qin Forestry Limited Partnership and Huu-ay-aht First Nations commissioned the Beck Group to look at long-term economically viable primary manufacturing options for APD.

The report concludes the options for APD are very limited. Over the next 90 days, the working group, which includes representatives from Western, the United Steelworkers union, Indigenous partners and contractually-aligned business, will explore potential viable industrial manufacturing solutions for the site.