Doerkson says indefinite halt at pulp mill a ‘hard blow’ to Quesnel, B.C., workers

QUESNEL — Premier-designate Lorne Doerkson says news that a pulp mill in Quesnel, B.C., is halting production will be a “hard blow” for the mill’s workers and their families in the small Cariboo city.

Doerkson says owner Millar Western is curtailing production at the Quesnel River Pulp mill indefinitely.

A statement from Doerkson says workers at the mill have been off since September, after the company said it was temporarily shutting the mill.

Doerkson says the company has “left the door open” to restarting operations, and will work with the city to figure out how to “walk through it.”

He says mills need to get fibre and permits more quickly to keep running, but warns of no “overnight fix.”

The federal government said in July that it had issued Millar Western Forest Products a $100-million loan for tariff-related assistance.

Finance Minister François-Philippe Champagne said at the time that the loan “will provide the company with the flexibility to strengthen its near-term operations.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2026.

The Canadian Press