The Prince Albert mill has been closed since 2006 and was bought by Paper Excellence in 2011. (Glenn Hicks/paNOW Staff)

By Glenn Hicks

forestry moves

Paper Excellence announces new scholarships; further signal of commitment to P.A.

Apr 21, 2021 | 5:03 PM

Pulp and paper company Paper Excellence – which owns the currently shuttered mill in Prince Albert – has announced the creation of new scholarships. These are for Métis students who live in the communities where the company operates as well as Indigenous and community scholarships. Students of the Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division are eligible.

While that’s good news for students, the company says it also speaks to their commitment to getting things back up and running in Prince Albert.

“I think these scholarships just reflect that truth that we’re looking at this as more of a going operation than a hope,” Graham Kissack, vice president, Environment, Health & Safety and Corporate Communications told paNOW.

He said Paper Excellence plans to reopen the dormant site in the summer of 2023. The estimated cost would be $550 million and the company says its Indigenous Relations team is engaging with 16 Saskatchewan First Nations and identifying their interest in participating in what they called ‘the supply chain continuum from forest management/operations through to pulp production.’

Paper Excellence has installed new signs at the mill entrance. (Submitted/Paper Excellence)

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“I certainly hope people are starting to recognize that this is serious business and that the company is seriously committed to making this happen,” Kissack said. “We’ve spent north of $600,000 in the last 12 months on consulting and engineering for the redesign of the site.”

He added they’ve now started to do local hiring to build out their project team.

“The level of seriousness in this project has dramatically changed in the last 12 months and it’s starting to move very, very quickly,” he said.

The total of $2,000 in scholarships announced Wednesday is available to various candidates including Métis high school graduates who are living in the company’s operating communities in British Columbia and Saskatchewan and are entering their first year at a public university, community college or institute of technology. The scholarships are comprised of eight $250 awards: four for community members and four for First Nations.

The awards will be presented to eligible students from Prince Albert Collegiate Institute, Carlton Comprehensive Public High School, Wesmor Public High School, and Won Ska Cultural School.

“Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division is very grateful for Paper Excellence’s generous scholarship donation,” said Cory Trann, Superintendent of Schools, Saskatchewan Rivers Public School Division in a media release. “We recognize that scholarships are vital for many our students to actualize their goals to attend post-secondary education, and appreciate when community orientated businesses, such as Paper Excellence, care about helping our students achieve their dreams.”

Editor’s note: this article was amended from the original to include further information provided by Paper Excellence specific to Prince Albert schools.

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glenn.hicks@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow