The recent sale of a northern Manitoba pulp and paper mill has saved 300 jobs.
The Tolko paper mill in The Pas, Man. has officially been sold to Canadian Kraft Paper Industries Limited, an affiliate of American Industrial Acquisition Corporation. The announcement came just weeks before the mill was planned to close.
"This is just like the best news you could ever have in a lifetime," said The Pas Mayor Jim Scott told CBC News.
In August of this year, Tolko announced it would be closing the mill by Dec. 2 because it was not sustainable financially, despite efforts made to improve the situation. The move would have caused 300 employees to be out of work.
The Tolko paper mill is the main employer in The Pas.
As part of the deal, Canadian Kraft Paper Industries Limited will be given a three-year break on municipal property taxes. Workers also voted to accept a three-year postponement of pension solvency payments and a 10 percent rollback in wages, the Canadian Press reported.
Canadian Kraft Paper Industries was also given a break by the province on additional pension payments for three years — however the payments will be required to be paid back over the following five years.
"There was a whole pile of things that had to come together," Scott said.