According to a report this past week by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., Ottawa, Canada, 10 years after the Prince Albert (Saskatchewan) pulp and paper mill shut down, a British Columbia-based company plans to reopen the mill by 2020.

This month ten years ago, Weyerhaeuser closed the Prince Albert pulp and paper mill, costing 700 people their jobs. But after acquiring the old mill in 2011, Paper Excellence Canada told CBC News they plan on bringing life back into the mill, injecting hundreds of jobs back into the city.

 

 

Pictured above: Part of the plant's pulping facility shown in a recent photograph. The plant is regarded by Paper Excellence to be in condition to be reopened if a proper amount of prep work is completed.  

 

Company spokesperson Kathy Cloutier said work to prepare the old mill could start in the next couple of years. However, a non-compete clause prevents them from producing pulp until 2020.

"We would like to see people start working in 2018 as prep work, so that would allow two years approximately to restart the mill," she said.

Cloutier added they would hire between 180 and 250 employees once the mill is back up and running. Prince Albert Mayor Greg Dionne said the city was fortunate that many of those who lost their jobs a decade ago chose to stay in Prince Albert.