2nd mill closure puts 53 out of work

JDI Kedgwick has confirmed thatit will be closing indefinitely, becoming the second sawmill in New Brunswick to shut its doors in two days.

Irving Ltd., whichowns the mill, confirmed for CBC News on Friday that its 53 employees will be out of a job come Oct. 5.

A day earlier,M.L. Wilkins and Son Ltd. in Frederictonclosedindefinitely, leaving 70 people out of work.

The mill is closing as a result of low prices for its products in the United States and the recent jump in the value of the Canadian dollar compared to the U.S. dollar, said Irving spokeswoman Mary Keith.

"The harvesting and the trucking operation will continue so the wood will be brought to the Kedgwick mill yard and once market conditions improve that wood will be processed," Keith said.

This marks the second closure at Kedgwick this year. Workers were off the job for more than two months in the winter.

Mills around the province have been shutting down over recent months, including in Juniper, Petitcodiac, Blackville and Miramichi, while about one-third of the 63 sawmills in New Brunswick are operating on reduced hours.

It has reached a point where it is going to take more than new markets to save New Brunswick's forest industry, said Natural Resources Minister Donald Arseneault.

"They have to change the way they do things," said Arseneault. "They have to not only find new markets but also look at more value-added products."