Investigation cleared Gerry Byrne, forestry department of wrongdoing in Botwood timber dealings

Gerry Byrne clapped back on Thursday after being accused of intentionally tanking discussions with a company for timber rights near Botwood.

The Department of Fisheries and Land Resources, of which Byrne is the minister, released a report from an internal investigation into a complaint about its handling of dealings with Bulk Logistics and Harold Sheppard Ltd. (HSL).

The investigation by the department's compliance unit was launched after someone complained that an agreement in principal granting timber rights to the two companies was revoked "without due consideration."

It also alleged the government did not consider policy when dealing with timber allocations.

"We investigated those allegations because it is our duty to do so, and what we found as a result of that investigation is that they were unfounded," Byrne told CBC News.

Bulk Logistics and HSL had partnered in an attempt to acquire the rights to the former Abitibi timber stand in central Newfoundland. Their plan was to build a wood chip plant in Botwood and create hundreds of jobs.

The land they wanted contains 285,000 cubic metres of timber, but they were offered a one-time cut of 60,000 cubic metres instead. While they had no intention of accepting, Botwood Mayor Scott Sceviour previously told CBC the offer was revoked by the government before they had a chance to respond.

The report released by the government on Thursday said the offer was revoked when it became clear the companies had a problem with the amount and location of the timber offered.

The companies wanted assurance they would have access to the former Abitibi zone in the future, the report said, which the government was unable to provide.

Botwood's beef

The Abitibi zone has been targeted by several large and established forestry operators, the report said, and as a result it was not offered to Bulk Logistics and Harold Sheppard Limited, despite being in close proximity to Botwood.

When asked if any other companies had plans to bring jobs to the area, Byrne named Cottles Island Lumber Company and Sexton Lumber as two large companies interested in expanding operations.

Sceviour said the two companies do not seem to be interested in creating jobs in Botwood — a town fuelled by the former Abitibi timber zone for decades.

"That was the one thing we had a real beef with," Sceviour said on Monday. 

"Whoever is cutting there, we're seeing no economic activity or any impact in this particular region at all. All they're doing is driving the wood east or west of us."

Government doesn't want another Rentech

Byrne said the government doesn't want to tie up the 285,000 cubic metres in agreements with companies that have not established themselves or cannot cut their current allocations.

According to the report, HSL is operating with a 2,500 cubic metre allocation and has only cut about 50 per cent of it, while Bulk Logistics has never done business with the province's forestry department.

The department ran into a problem in 2013 when Sexton Lumber hit a shortage in its cutting zones.

It asked the government for access to the former Abitibi region, but all 285,000 cubic metres were tied up in an agreement in principle with Rentech — an American company that wanted to produce wood pellets and ship them out of Botwood.

Sexton had to lay off all 79 employees for a brief period, while Rentech failed to move beyond an agreement in principle or create a single job in the region.

The allocation was again tied up through most of 2017 in an agreement in principal with Newgreen Technology, a newly incorporated Corner Brook company that failed to get things moving on a biofuel plant in Botwood.

In order for something to get moving in the region, Byrne said it will likely take partnerships between existing forest operators in central Newfoundland.

"If we can get greater business partnerships, I think you can see tremendous growth."

Harold Sheppard Limited intends to move forward with a wood chip operation in Botwood without the former Abitibi allocation, by purchasing wood chips from independent harvesters instead.

Byrne lauded the decision as a "brilliant" way forward, saying the plan can work better with cooperation between harvesters, as opposed to competition for the former Abitibi timber stand.