Tag Archives: tiskʷat Mill

History

IWD & Memories of the mill: One Woman’s Work

By Ruth Perfitt, originally published on qathet Living

You might say I worked in my Grandfather’s footsteps. My maternal Grandfather, Ray Olsen, was one of the first employees at the mill. The family lived around Powell Lake (Olsen’s Valley) and he started with the mill in the grinder rooms. He and another fellow would travel by boat from Olsen’s Landing down to the mill, often staying the week in town at a place on Poplar Street and rowing back up on weekends bringing supplies for the family.

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Business, Jobs

Hope for the future of the tiskʷat mill site

The tiskʷat Mill has been a cornerstone of Powell River’s prosperity for more than a century. While it no longer has a future producing newsprint, up until two weeks ago it seemed like the site was on the verge of being reborn as a hydrogen company. Then Paper Excellence refused Renewable Hydrogen Canada’s offer and listed their property with an International Real Estate firm. 

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Forests, Indigenous Nations

Unfinished business between First Nations and Catalyst Paper Excellence

qathet Living, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

“We are working closely with the Hegus John Hackett and the Tla’amin Executive Council to ensure the steps we take in building this new relationship are thoughtful and measured.” 

That’s what Catalyst Paper Excellence stated in a media release on September 24, 2021, when the company announced the re-naming of the local mill to Catalyst tiskwat.

Less than three months later, on December 1, Catalyst made another announcement: the indefinite curtailment of this mill.

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Business

 tiskʷat Mill closure in Powell River

After a century of operation, British Columbia’s oldest newsprint mill is closing down. Catalyst’s tiskʷat Mill, in Powell River, has been in operation since 1912. There was a time when one in every 25 newspapers worldwide used their paper. The mill closed down, for what was initially thought to be a temporary curtailment, on November 22nd. On December 1st their parent company, Paper Excellence, announced the closure was indefinite. 

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Business, Community, Indigenous Nations History

Powell River Paper Mill changes its name to reconcile with First Nation

qathet Living, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Catalyst mill is changing its name, in collaboration with Tla’amin Nation. The Paper Excellence company will now be called tiskʷat (tees-kwat); the English translation is ‘big river.’ 

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