A business arm of Cumberland House Cree Nation has entered a formal agreement with the company working to re-open the Prince Albert pulp Mill.
Cumberland Wood Products signed a letter of understanding with Paper Excellence Pulp Inc. on Thursday.
The agreement is an understanding that both sides would work collaboratively as the re-opening of the mill gets underway.
Leadership from Cumberland House Cree Nation says they are excited about this new working relationship.
“Cumberland House Cree Nation is pleased to acknowledge the working relationship with Prince Albert Pulp and Cumberland Wood Products and their efforts supporting the reopening of the mill in Prince Albert,” said Cumberland House Cree Nation Rene Chaboyer. “We welcome our partnership in the support of fibre supply and operations that lead to our mutual benefit.”
Paper Excellence runs one other mill in Saskatchewan and is the driving force to opening the pulp mill in Prince Albert.
“This is a key step in building our relations with the Cumberland House Cree Nation and we are pleased to be on this path together,” said Carlo Del Monte, Vice President of Energy and Business Development at Paper Excellence. “The signing of this Letter of Understanding signals our desire to continue building Indigenous relationships in the province.”
This latest news comes after a swath of timber allocations announced in the province recently.
The pulp mill, received allocations last week along with an OSB mill in Prince Albert. Two other mills, in Big River and Carrot River, also received timber allocations from the government.
(PHOTO Carlo Dal Monte, Vice President, Energy and Business Development (left) and Chief Rene Chaboyer, Cumberland House Cree Nation (right) met at the Prince Albert mill on August 18, 2021. Photo provided by Paper Excellence.)