Control of local sawmill granted to tribal council

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Members of The Meadow Lake Tribal Council anticipate an increase in local employment since obtaining full control of the NorSask Sawmill, said Richard Gladue, council chief.

The council previously held a 40 per cent equity position in the mill, but recently reached an agreement to acquire the remaining shares, 40 per cent held by an employee group and 20 per cent owned by Millar Western Pulp Mill.

"This is a major step in turning our 20 year development plan into reality," said Gladue. "Ownership of the business enterprises such as the NorSask Sawmill will generate new revenues that will help create new economic activity and jobs."

Some feel local control of NorSask will be more effective in assuring future economic stability.

"Completing this deal is a huge step for us," said the council's chief executive officer Ray Ahenakew, who will chair NorSask's board of directors. "For years we worked on creating jobs for our people but found the most effective way to ensure long-term jobs for MLTC citizens was by holding equity in local enterprises. We've done that with this purchase," he said.

NorSask will continue to operate under the leadership of general manager Allan Brander, said Ahenakew.

The mill was originally constructed in 1971 by Parsons and Whittemore of New York. The provincial government took it over in 1986 and two years later sold it to a partnership of employees, the Tribal Council, and Crown Investments Corporation, who sold its stake to Millar Western which operates a nearby pulp mill.

The NorSask operation will be held by a resource development corporation, which is wholly owned subsidiary of the Meadow Lake council which works on behalf of nine First Nations in northern Saskatchewan. The facility employs 142 people and has been active in logging the region's forests, including reclamation of burnt timber after forest fires. Portable mills used in harvesting burnt timber accounted for roughly 40 per cent of NorSask's total production in 1997.

The sawmill will continue to hold its 50 per cent stake in Mistik Management, the company that manages the forest management license agreement on behalf of NorSask and Millar Western.

NorSask is a major economic catalyst for the northwest part of the province and one of Saskatchewan's largest companies with sales exceeding $50 million annually. It was named Saskatchewan's Exporter of the Year in the 1994 ABEX Awards sponsered by the Saskatchewan Chamber of Commerce.